Either Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman has the best hype agent this side of Drew Rosenhaus, or the guy is legitimately turning NFL scouts heads.

Freeman, who wasn’t even mentioned as one of the top tier quarterbacks in a conference that largely was a collective sieve of defensive play, continues to have his name bounced around as a first round draft choice.

And all too often Joe reads of the paper-thin connection of Freeman to newly ordained Bucs coach Raheem the Dream, only because The Dream was an assistant there for one year when Freeman was an underclassman.

Still, the rumors from insiders persist Freeman will be selected in the first round. Add Pat Kirwan of NFL.com to the list of people who think the Bucs may draft Freeman in Kirwan’s latest mock draft.

Players under consideration include Evander Hood and Rey Maualuga. The Buccaneers have been active in free agency, signing players such as Derrick Ward, trading for Kellen Winslow and letting older defensive players go. They need help on defense, but if Freeman grades out as a first-round quarterback and they only have McCown under contract, they may have to pull Freeman’s name down off the board and turn it in.

Joe finds it difficult to believe that a quarterback who couldn’t master the ole’ defenses of the Big XII would all of a sudden be an NFL first round draft choice.