Zyon McCollum Bored No More
October 13th, 2026
Zyon McCollum now locked in.
It appears Bucs corner Zyon McCollum may be cured.
The Bucs defense is playing surprisingly well this year, especially since it has yet to rid itself of the mental virus that they don’t need an edge rush, or that the mentality of an edge rush needs to be purged from memory in order to excel at “other things.”
Cornerback Jacob Parrish has become one of the NFL’s kings of passes defensed and broken up passes. And now, fellow Bucs corner Zyon McCollum is playing strong ball.
In fact, in his day-after presser on Friday, Bowles touted McCollum for playing All-Pro-level football.
Yesterday, McCollum agreed to do a Zoom session with the local pen and mic club. What’s the secret to his success this fall?
In short, McCollum said KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles has constantly hounded him to not drift off so much by not being bored.
“For the most part, Bowles has challenged me throughout OTAs and going into this season to stop getting bored and to stop falling asleep, kind of, out there,” McCollum said. “And I feel like that’s made some of my mistakes in the past, of not getting any action to my side. I kind of fall asleep, and then that’s when they get me.
“So it’s just been trying to stay completely focused for four quarters.”
McCollum said it’s not just losing focus but that he’s getting good intel from teammates about opposing offenses when the defense gets off the field.
“I can’t take all the credit for my play,” McCollum said. “I mean, we’re talking on the sideline, we’re talking on the field, we’re making checks, we’re calling out what we see, what we’re anticipating, and that works for us.
“And it’s helped me feel more comfortable and more calm. I trust my teammates, and I’m able to make it and be in those spots.”
It almost sounded to Joe that McCollum meshes with the rest of the secondary. Maybe that’s why some guys weren’t retained? Maybe there wasn’t a necessary among the defensive backs?
Regardless, it’s good to see McCollum has his focus back. How he regained it or how the Bucs worked with him to lock in, do not try to fix what’s now repaired.
October 13th, 2026 at 7:08 am
Bet he doesn’t get bored counting that money.
October 13th, 2026 at 7:22 am
They’re improving despite their HC/DC. That’s commendable.
October 13th, 2026 at 7:22 am
The D is much improved. Like DR said yesterday, if you take away 2 bad plays, one by special teams and one by the offense, the Bucs D would rank in the top 10.
Now it appears the O-line is also starting to come together (they were playing surprisingly bad).
Of course Bucky is also doing his thing, in part, thanks to the improved play of the O-line
If we can get our “deep” group of WRs to get open downfield, maybe we can still have a good season. I know Cade is All Pro, but come on Z Rob…
October 13th, 2026 at 8:00 am
Glad to see this guy finally step up and earn that bloated contract…
He sucked last season.
Glad he isn’t bored any longer.
LOL!
October 13th, 2026 at 8:01 am
Really remarkable to hear from a professional athlete
October 13th, 2026 at 8:13 am
Remarkable, but at the same time I will give him credit for honesty. So many times we complained about canned answers. Zyon is out there with the whole truth leaving himself exposed to whatever feedback it entertains. Kind of bold.
And in this case, a little more context to the “bored” tag made it make a little bit more sense. No action, mind starts to drift. Like playing right field against a bunch of right-handed hitters
October 13th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Seems Zyon’s brain is wired a bit differently. Glad he has worked on it. Respect!
October 13th, 2026 at 8:21 am
When the DBs are are allowed to play tight they look good
October 13th, 2026 at 8:22 am
Drunk Bucs Fan with one the more sober comments you’ll ever hear!! Kudos for getting off the juice.
October 13th, 2026 at 8:31 am
“I kind of fall asleep” I have no words.
October 13th, 2026 at 8:38 am
“They’re improving despite their HC/DC. That’s commendable.”
Uhhh … if you’re going to blame him when they suck, you gotta give him credit when they do well. That’s just fundamental fairness.
October 13th, 2026 at 8:50 am
Hope this pair of CBs can stay healthy. They are making it easy to feel good about Dean’s departure.
October 13th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Uhhhh, the total body of work precludes that.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:06 am
DVOA is the gold standard of statistical analysis of NFL teams. After 5 weeks Buccaneers rank 12 of 32 teams and top 5 on defense. Carolina ranks 10th. 49ers far and away #1. OK the record sucks. But Bowles has done a lot to improve the defense. Playoffs still a long shot. But Buccaneers can compete with most teams in the league. Passing game is the Achilles heel.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:17 am
Amazing what staying focus can do for player engagement when the plays start and keeping going away from you. Now Zyon has to clean up his open field tackling and defining the edge defending against stretch runs that come his way.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:17 am
Amazing what staying focus can do for player engagement when the plays start and keeping going away from you. Now Zyon has to clean up his open field tackling and defining the edge defending against stretch runs that come his way.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:27 am
KOD with Bowles (1-4) saying ANYONE on his defense is playing at an All Pro Level.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:31 am
Can u imagine being in a stadium filled with screaming fans, across from say Jefferson of the Vikings and actually drifting off into a bored sleep, all while getting paid millions of dollars i might add!!? Sweet fancy Moses! Incredulous to have happen to you…even more so to say it out loud in front of the press, or your coach!! You keep that nugget of wisdom to yourself
October 13th, 2026 at 9:45 am
As some have implied above, I don’t know if it’s savvy or stupid for mccollum to make such candid comments. But it is refreshing. He is saying what some of us think happens at times. It would be akin to him admitting that he loafed on a play here or there. So kudos to him for that. And more so for the improved play. Fans have crapped on the secondary for a long time. Because there’s been a lot to crap on. Nice to have them be a strength of the defense for once in a great while.
October 13th, 2026 at 9:55 am
maybe has attention deficit disorder
October 13th, 2026 at 9:56 am
Zyon is the best CB I’ve seen all year.
Hes having a monster season.
Parrish, Morrison, and Scott are all absolutely killing it to.
If we didn’t have to blitz these guys, to pressure the QB.
We would be a shut down secondary.
Dam Licht for not getting this team a pass rusher.
We have an extremely talented young Secondary.
With a good head coach next few year- those guys will win us a lot of games
That’s worth its weight in gold
October 13th, 2026 at 9:57 am
MODD, The coaches came up with a good game plan for Dallas! But they still suck?? Bowles gets no credit just the credit that he sucks?
October 13th, 2026 at 10:02 am
Chairman of the bored.
October 13th, 2026 at 12:01 pm
@Sheen, thank you very much!
However, I am getting ready to hop on a cruise ship for a week, and I did get the drink package…….
October 13th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
McCollum … “I can’t take all the credit for my play. I mean, we’re talking on the sideline, we’re talking on the field, we’re making checks, we’re calling out what we see, what we’re anticipating, and that works for us.”
Hmmm, sounds like they’re actually COMMUNICATING. Wow, what a difference a (bad) year makes.
October 13th, 2026 at 12:29 pm
ModHairKen … ‘if you’re going to blame him when they suck, you gotta give him credit when they do well. That’s just fundamental fairness.’
Kudos & agree 100%.
October 13th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
Buddha … ‘DVOA is the gold standard of statistical analysis of NFL teams’.
You’re right, but it’s not the ONLY gold standard (EPA has crept in there also). Created by Aaron Schatz, I think it scares some because the algorithmic weights are proprietary, and can’t be adjusted by ‘outsiders’.
For those interested though, Aaron Schatz wrote an excellent (and very detailed) explanation of it back on 29 Jan 2026 in an article titled ‘DVOA Explained’. Bottom line IMO is that I get wary of things I can’t validate through other sources. DVOA is very sophisticated and should come with a caveat: ‘Just take our word for it’.