Is Josh Freeman Fantasy Football Ownable?

Drafted out of Kansas State at No. 17 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, Josh Freeman was the third quarterback off the board (Matthew Stafford at No. 1 and Mark Sanchez at No. 5). At the time, there were many who believed that he was not going to be ready to make an impact in his rookie season, but things have certainly changed.

After sitting on the sidelines the first six weeks, Freeman got his first game action in Week Seven, going 2-4 for 13 yards. At 0-7, the Buccaneers turned the keys over to Freeman after their bye week and saw instant results against the Packers in Week Nine.

Freeman went 14-31 for 205 yards, three TD, and one INT in Tampa Bay’s first win of the season. After a successful first week as a starter there is the chance that he becomes usable over the next few weeks, right?

Let’s take a look at his upcoming opponents:

Week 10—at Miami

Week 11—vs. New Orleans

Week 12—at Atlanta

Week 13—at Carolina

Week 14—vs. New York Jets

Week 15—at Seattle

Week 16—at New Orleans

Week 17—vs. Atlanta

Carolina has been a good passing defense (27th) as has the Jets (31st), so those are two games that you are going to want to avoid using him. The Saints, who are 17th in the league in yards/game, actually lead the way with 16 interceptions.  Those are going to be two tough games as well, including a potential fantasy football playoff matchup.

That’s four out of eight games where you definitely will not want to use him.

Now, let’s throw in the fact that he is likely to be wildly inconsistent. Let’s just look at Sanchez, who has games with three and five interceptions, as proof. Not enough? 

How about Stafford’s five interception game in Week Nine against the Seahawks, a team that Freeman is also going to have to face?

The fact of the matter is, even in two quarterback formats, there are just too many questions around Freeman to trust him. With the bye weeks coming to an end, there is going to be little need to have him stashed away on your roster.  Even if an injury were to occur, you should be able to find a better option for the one-week fill in.

What do you think? Is Freeman someone you think that should be owned in two-quarterback formats? Why or why not?

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