Zyon McCollum Continues To Develop – At A New Position

Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum has been the latest young player on defense to step up — and yet another draft-day find for general manager Jason Licht. McCollum has played the most snaps of any cornerback on defense this season and has improved his game after some struggles in his rookie year.

It appears that the 2022 fifth-round pick now has the confidence of head coach Todd Bowles and has begun to be deployed in different ways in Bowles’ defense. That includes playing some nickel cornerback and switching to safety in the Super Wild Card round against the Eagles. What does he offer at the position, could it be his long-term home — and to McCollum — how does he see the position compared to being on the outside?

Todd Bowles: Zyon McCollum Is “Kind Of An Enigma”

In the last game against Philadelphia, Todd Bowles called a defensive masterpiece. That included having K.J. Britt playing more than Devin White at inside linebacker, utilizing a six-man defensive line to pressure Jalen Hurts, and playing Zyon McCollum at nickel cornerback and safety. Earlier in the season when Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean were both healthy, McCollum barely saw the field.

On Monday night, he received the sixth-most snaps on defense and has fought his way into the safety mix over Dee Delaney, Ryan Neal, and Kaevon Merriweather.

“He gives us speed,” Bowles said this week on what he brings at safety. “He gives us versatility from a coverage standpoint. He’s a willing tackler. He gives us matchups against tight ends that we wouldn’t normally matchup against very well.”

Although McCollum did well patrolling the defensive backfield, it’s still too early for Bowles to say he’s a safety. After all, McCollum started nine games at cornerback in 2023 and his size and speed also remain a matchup problem for opposing wide receivers.

“It’s too early to tell at this point,” Bowles added about his long-term home being at safety. “I love him at corner, I like him at safety.”

Still, with what he brings, the Bucs’ head coach and defensive play-caller views McCollum as an “enigma.”

Zyon McCollum Discusses His Transition To Playing Safety

Although Zyon McCollum has a twin brother Tristin who plays safety for the Eagles, safety is a new position for Zyon to learn. Having played as a cornerback throughout college at Sam Houston State and in his rookie year with the Bucs, it has been a challenge to move back there. But as has been the case with other players in the secondary this season (Antoine Winfield Jr., Christian Izien), McCollum is an eager learner and willing to fill in wherever he is needed.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum and Falcons WR Drake London – Photo by: USA Today

“I mean, it was pretty challenging because the biggest difference for real is like the angles,” McCollum told Pewter Report this week. “At times when I’m reading the quarterback as a corner, my angle is more lateral while at safety everything is downhill. So I see him open and looking to the left, so I open and go left but instead, I’ve got to go downhill because those routes are coming to me.

“The angles have really been the hardest adjustment for me and just knowing to protect over the top. As a corner, I like to be even because I trust my speed and can play routes more, but as a safety, you always want to be deep. The transition has been a little awkward but again I love DB [defensive back] and I love learning so it’s been a smooth transition I’d say.”

Learning and playing a new position would not have happened if it were not for improvement in other areas of his game. In particular, McCollum’s progress in tackling defenders has been on display this season. In the regular season, he was fifth on the team with 68 total tackles, which led all cornerbacks. To him, that is not the only area where growth has come.

“[Improvement has] come everywhere,” McCollum added. “I think just understanding my play speed as well as the help around me. Last year I just felt I was full speed nonstop into everything and I was getting myself out of position, and this year I slowed down a little bit. But also, just knowing how NFL runners attack defenders. In college, there’s not really as much intense thought put into [movement], so just understanding gap schemes and where my help is coming from. That’s allowed me to play fast.”

Zyon McCollum Is Learning From Todd Bowles And It’s Paying Off

It’s understandably hard for Zyon McCollum to slow down, especially considering he has a case for being the fastest guy on the team with an identical 4.33 NFL combine 40-yard time to Bucs wide receiver Trey Palmer. But playing fast in-game has meant slowing down and understanding the nuances of opposing offenses. With that in mind, it surely helps to have a former NFL safety in Todd Bowles to learn the ropes from in processing reads and movements.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

“He’s really, really big on keeping eyes on the quarterback and reading the quarterback,” McCollum said of what he learns from Bowles. “I’ve just been — every team that I play — I get really, really deep into reading three-step, five-step, run reads, pass reads, all the different types of play action.

“I look at run tape, if I know they have a bunch of runs to the tight end, then I know automatically all their boots are going away from the tight end. Just understanding little things like that has just helped me be where I’m supposed to be before the offense knows I’m going to be there.”

McCollum spoke this week on being comfortable and confident playing alongside the guys around him. That will surely be needed if the team hopes to contain a group of hungry Lions in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Josh Reynolds, and Jameson Williams. It is a collection of big cats that Jared Goff has had no problem feeding the ball to this season, especially in Week 6.

To tame an offense led by Goff this time around means that each member of the secondary has to bring it if the Bucs have a chance of beating Detroit this time around. Winning on Sunday would only move the Bucs further in the postseason and give them a chance to face another team for the second time. McCollum is excited for another chance at getting payback.

“To me, it’s like we’re on a revenge tour at this point.” On Sunday afternoon we will see if this tour will continue its nationwide tour.