ESPN names Bucs cornerback as 'X-Factor' for 2024 season

The 2024 season is going to be a big one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defense takes on a new look while the offense remains the same. Gone are Shaq Barrett, Devin White, and Carlton Davis, and stepping in are younger players ready to make an impact.

One of those players expected to step up has the attention of a new face at ESPN.

Ben Solak, formerly of The Draft Network and The Ringer, is now with ESPN. In one of his first pieces, he lays out who can be the x-factors for NFL teams during the upcoming season. For the Buccaneers, the choice was easy.

“(Zyon) McCollum, who was a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, has the size (6-foot-2, 199 pounds) and explosiveness that made (Carlton) Davis so successful pressed up on the boundary. . .opposing teams will test McCollum early and often to see if the young corner really has what it takes to win outside.”

McCollum will be the x-factor when you consider what Solak has pointed out. Teams will test this secondary on day one because of Davis’s departure. McCollum will decide whether the work of these safeties will be any harder this season.

Ideally, he shows he can handle the pressure teams will throw his way, literally. In the NFC South, especially, quarterbacks like Bryce Young and Kirk Cousins will want to push the ball downfield. We will know early in the season how well he is ready for his moment.