Hustling Zyon McCollum
June 30th, 2025
Hustle.
This is simply an example of a player busting his arse.
Or, as former Bucs linebacker Scot Brantley would say, “It’s about want-to.”
Joe has noticed, reading the comments over the past few months on this here corner of the interwebs, that several fans are down on Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum. Joe sure isn’t.
And the following are the reasons why.
Last year McCollum broke up 17 passes, third-most in the NFL. Joe doesn’t know too many rotten corners that pull that off. But then there is the following that shows McCollum plays with heart and energy. NextGen Stats has a list of the longest tackles in the NFL last year.
A long tackle is the distance a tackler has to travel to bring down a ballcarrier. Of the top-eight longest tackles, McCollum has two. One was a run play (No. 2) and the other a pass play (No. 8).
Against the Crows last year, Derrick Henry had an 81-yard run. McCollum raced from 88 yards away to catch him at the Bucs’ 11-yard line.
Then, in the same game, Saint Lamar Jackson hit Rashod Bateman deep down the middle. McCollum covered some 77 yards of real estate to track down Bateman at the Bucs-8.
Hustling isn’t new to McCollum. There was a tackle he made on a punt as a rookie against the Browns where he got knocked out of bounds right away at the Bucs-45. McCollum raced like 30 yards down the Browns’ bench out of bounds, then cut inside to get back on the field at the Browns-25 and forced the punt returner out of bounds.
That’s hustling.
Yeah, Joe understands McCollum was a starter on one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year. It was also McCollum’s first year as a full-time starter. People learn.
Joe has seen enough (pass breakups and sheer hustle) that tells Joe there’s quite a bit to work with. Combine McCollum’s top-shelf athleticism with his ability to break up passes and his hustle, those are the core ingredients for a ballplayer.
Imagine if Devin White had the heart and the drive that McCollum has?
Bucs flyer Zyon McCollum just checks on the Gatorade tables en route to the returner: pic.twitter.com/Gpise8FNnA
— Pete Damilatis (@PeteDamilatis) November 30, 2022
June 30th, 2025 at 10:35 am
fortunately he will soon be gone.
June 30th, 2025 at 10:42 am
You can read this stat two different ways. Either he was really good at defending the pass, or the opposing QB picked on McCollum often due to the WR he was covering seemed to be opened.
June 30th, 2025 at 10:58 am
I was telling everyone last year that he was going to be the guy
June 30th, 2025 at 11:05 am
With all the games Dean missed last year, he was probably covering the wr1 more often than not
June 30th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Zyon isn’t going anywhere. I thought last season would be his break-out year. With all the elements last season coming into play, possibly this season is his year. Rooting for him.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:19 am
His first year here, he was HORRIBLE. As time went on he got better, and now I think he can get even better.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:24 am
Fans don’t know what they’re talking about when they speak ill of McCollum or his game, he was being “picked” on because he purposefully covered the best WRs on the opposing offense with and without Dean in the lineup. Just like in 2023 where he faced off against WRs lined up X/Y/Z AND played both safety positions because he’s top 3 athletes on this team and his smart as well, you can tell from his pressers.
Some people are waiting on the right type of play or stats to give him his credit. Some of us realize he’s been our best player in the secondary 2 years straight whether Winfield was healthy or not. Perfect every play? No, who is? but more often than not McCollum is in position.
Again, this was FIFTH round pick so salute to our scouts, Licht, Bowles and the staff for making an environment possible where a 5th can play 1056, get targeted 108 times and only allow 59% of throws to be completed for 4 TDs. Statstically Zyon has played more with each year and improved his numbers over the year prior, stop being unrealistic his time is now.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:40 am
His athleticism (10 RAS) and good secondary coaching as well as his work ethic and drive on the field should turn him into a top corner. He’s already almost all the way there now!
If he ran a long way to make a tackle he was tackling someone somebody else was supposed to cover.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:43 am
Zyon has been one of the few bright spots in our secondary since getting selected in the 5th round a few years back. If you’ve yet to see his value to our back end idk what to tell you. Went from his rookie campaign, to playing every secondary position year 2, and then on to playing 1058 snaps last year as an outside CB. 108 targets, only 62 catches allowed, 17 PBUs and 4 TDs given up. So of the 46 passes that weren’t completed it’s about 1 in every 3 of those passes he was getting his hands on. C’mon man. If anybody is going to look better playing in a more stable lineup I’d put money on McCollum over any other defender on this team, right now.
June 30th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
I like him, has grit, determination and some good athletic skills. Those are all things needed to be a success in the NFL. Joe is right on this one.
June 30th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
He has the heart and all the tools you want in a CB.
We just don’t have to put all our eggs in his basket now.
This team has loads of talent.
I think we are lucky to have him, and I hope he is All Pro.
Competition Is a good thing.
June 30th, 2025 at 1:16 pm
The guy is just a good football player. He’s smart, well spoken and has drive. He speaks well when he talks about the game and his teammates. And he has gotten better each year, that’s what you want, it’s growth. What else can one ask for? It takes all 11 on each side of the ball to make it work and he’s been dependable.
June 30th, 2025 at 1:23 pm
“best player in the secondary 2 years straight whether Winfield was healthy or not. ”
I’m all for giving him props, but Winfield’s 2023 was All Pro level. He essentially won one of the Carolina games himself with turnovers.
June 30th, 2025 at 1:31 pm
Anyone criticizing McCollum just isn’t paying attention. Is he a lock-down corner? No, at least not yet. But, the dude has hussle and want-to. He’s a baller and IMO a much better corner than Dean.
June 30th, 2025 at 1:51 pm
McCollum had worked hard and really improved his game. His tackling in year 1 wasn’t great but it’s better now. He showed Bowles that allowing a DB to focus on one position is a good thing.
With a pass rush leading to some picks, Zyon can be in consideration for ALL Pro. He’s a smart guy and will continue to improve his tackling and improve his man coverage in goal line situations.
June 30th, 2025 at 2:25 pm
Pretty sure that more passes defended indicates targeted more often more than anything else. I’d be interested in knowing how he and Dean compared in # of times targeted, TDs allowed, 1st downs allowed.
Regardless of stats, Zyon (and Dean) should be better with consistent, solid safety play behind him and competition from our new CBs.
June 30th, 2025 at 2:49 pm
dean is gone next. zyon after that, in spite of his great smelling hair, terrific smile and contribution to culture and other nonsensical attributes. nobody is fooled even with his “dawg” mentality. he isnt a hawk, thats the problem. sorry.
June 30th, 2025 at 3:32 pm
So Jimmy, when did you smell McCollum’s hair? Contribution to culture? Dude, who are listening to?
June 30th, 2025 at 3:33 pm
You are not wrong, but Joe will take that a step further. McCollum was targeted because quarterbacks/teams didn’t want to target Jamel Dean as much. You know, lesser of two evils.
June 30th, 2025 at 3:48 pm
Love this guy he has heart and the will to do whatever it takes showing a growing football IQ and top level athleticism. There’s been a lot of chatter about replacing the other corner, never heard a word of anybody wanting McCullum to go. I believe we will have a respected out of fear secondary if not later this upcoming season,or by the next season just with the combination of Zion McCullum Benjamin Morris and parish as long as the two rookies translate to the NFL level which seems to be a good bet. And who knows it may help Jamal Dean injuries a lot by rotating the four and allow him to stay a buccaneer. Either way it’s good times ay the future is looking great let’s go freaking Tampa Bay buccaneers
June 30th, 2025 at 6:17 pm
When both Dean and McCollum played last year, the Bucs won. It’s when they didn’t that we constantly got into trouble.
June 30th, 2025 at 7:06 pm
The past is the past. Everyone starts fresh.
Let’s see what he’s got in 2025. He’s got increased competition. That should make him better.
June 30th, 2025 at 8:44 pm
Gotta love a scheme that requires someone to catch a dude after busted assignments lead to an ultra long gain. The genius overseeing that mess has a plan, though.
June 30th, 2025 at 9:33 pm
Thanks for the Scott Brantley reference. I wonder if he’s ever well enough to appear at a Bucs game ? When so few others supported the Bucs, his love for the team is second to none. I don’t know if he was Ring of honor player, but definitely one as a dedicated love of the team, announcer, etc. that loved him back.
June 30th, 2025 at 10:09 pm
McCollum was looking like he had shutdown CB ability the first half of last season. Dont know if he was hurt, regressed, or the book was out on him.
July 1st, 2025 at 12:49 am
Based on what you guys were saying in the latest podcast, you were implying there’s not much difference between Zyon and Dean. It’s not fans on here talking him down, it’s you guys. Anyone with a set of eyes who watched games last yr can tell Zyon is far and away our best outside CB. we need to lock him up long term ASAP. If he has another good season, we will need to shell out Carleton Davis money AT MINIMUM to keep him