How Bucs' Zyon McCollum is Preparing for Commanders' Jayden Daniels

Zyon McCollum is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer s third-year cornerback out of Sam Houston State gearing up to take a big role within the Bucs secondary.

McCollum has seen a lot of game time during his first two seasons with the Bucs, but this year there are more expectations as he will line up across cornerback Jamel Dean full-time .

McCollum features strong closing speed, the ability to not let receivers get vertical on him, and an impressive football IQ.

He thinks he has a beat on what rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is going to try and do against the Bucs secondary.

"I think for him, especially for a rookie quarterback, they are just working timing, so they will do a lot of pat-and-go and he has good timing," said McCollum. "He has a good deep ball so as a corner, if I can get my hands on a receiver and disrupt that timing, it kind of throws everything off. Unfortunately, he can scramble and make plays with his feet instead of his arm, definitely something we will have to keep an eye on."

Over his first two seasons in the NFL, McCollum has yet to record an interception, and this off-season he has worked hard at making sure if his hands get on the ball he can bring it in by working the JUGS machine at practice.

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Another year under Todd Bowles's defensive scheme seems to be helping Zyon understand how to keep the ball in front of him and not over-pursue his target.

McCollum credits being a veteran in the NFL now to why he can see the field better:

"Now that it is my third year in the league," said McCollum. "I am starting to understand offensive coordinators a lot more and so coming into the game, knowing what they do simplicity-wise and knowing how they can mix it up."

The Buccaneers will be leaning on McCollum to lock up his side of the field and set the edge correctly so Daniels is unable to freely run. It would also be very nice to see Zyon earn the first interception of his young career.