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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had another padded practice on Friday with as they welcomed some of the team’s legends, including center Tony Mayberry, a three-time Pro Bowler in the Tony Dungy era, and former Pro Bowl cornerback Donnie Abraham, who is the second-leading interceptor in franchise history behind Rondé Barber.
Following another day of training camp, let’s take a look at the list of studs and duds from the action on Friday where there were sacks and interceptions aplenty.
Studs From Day 8 Of Bucs Training Camp
WR Dean Patterson IV
If there is anyone who is taking advantage of the injury situation at wide receiver in recent days it’s Dean Patterson IV, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech and a local kid from nearby Pasco County. With Tez Johnson, Jalen McMillan and David Sills V out with minor injuries, Patterson continues to get more snaps and he’s making more catches and scoring more touchdowns, adding another one during Friday’s practice.
At 6-foot-1, 199 pounds with 4.65 speed, Patterson’s route-running gets him open because he’s not the biggest or the fastest. But he’s been consistently making plays in camp since the start.
CB Zyon McCollum
Believe it or not, Zyon McCollum leads the team in interceptions with three during camp so far. And he should have had four if not for bobbling and dropping an interception in the end zone during Thursday’s practice. McCollum had blanket coverage on Emeka Egbuka on a few reps today and came away with an interception to end practice. McCollum was stride for stride with Egbuka on a go route and leaped up and tipped the pass to himself and then caught the ball this time. It was the type of play that McCollum hasn’t made enough of.
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come with his confidence soaring now to start camp.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
CB Josh Hayes & LB Christian Rozeboom
Todd Bowles isn’t kidding. Josh Hayes has gotten better on defense over the last year or two. Is he CB1, CB2 or CB3? No, he’s still a very good special teamer first – primarily as a gunner. But he is not the liability he was on defense years ago and he’s starting to make more plays on the defensive side. On Friday he had a 99-yard pick-six on a tipped pass from inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who was covering the back in the flat in the lower red zone when he read Jake Browning’s eyes and dropped back a yard or so into the end zone to deflect a pass intended for Garrett Greene.
Hayes was Johnny on the spot, caught the deflection and took it the distance. It was a great, instinctive play by Rozeboom to peel off his guy and get a deeper drop in zone coverage, and a fantastic finish to the play by Hayes, who recorded his first interception of camp. Hayes also had a pass breakup on a crossing route later in practice and probably had his best day of camp so far.
OLB David Walker
Eight days of practice and at least eight sacks for David Walker, who has been the star of Bucs training camp so far.
He got another one today and it’s time for Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, who also calls the defense, to give Walker some reps with the starters or at least the second team rather than be relegated to the third-string defense opposite Chris Braswell. Perhaps that comes next week versus the Jets in joint practices. Walker has more than earned the depth chart elevation with his dominant first week in pads.

Bucs OLBs Rueben Bain Jr. and David Walker – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches
It’s rare that nose tackles get sacks, especially when it’s not Vita Vea. But both A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches got to Baker Mayfield on Friday – even if a smothering secondary helped out. Robinson and Nunez-Roches each got what you would call a coverage sack after Mayfield was corralled in the pocket with nowhere to throw the ball. But there was another sack by Robinson versus the second team offensive line where he bulldozed the entire and got to Jake Browning. An impressive day for a bunch of old dudes in the middle.
TE Cade Otton
There weren’t too many stars on offense, but Cade Otton was probably the best one outside of Bucky Irving, who also had a solid day running the ball. Otton made two nice catches, one in the back of the end zone from Baker Mayfield for a touchdown and another one on an intermediate pass for a big 25-yard gain.
Otton has had a very good camp so far and is earning that $10 million already, especially in the passing game. Someone will have to make up for the touchdowns Mike Evans produced in the red zone, and with Otton’s rapport with Mayfield he’ll likely pick up some of the slack.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Duds From Day 8 Of Bucs Training Camp
WR Ted Hurst
We’re going to be incredibly nitpicky with this one because Hurst had an okay day, but he missed a golden opportunity to haul in a touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield standing alone in the back of the end zone. In a lower red zone drill, Hurst got open in front of the goal posts and Mayfield rifled a high pass above the 6-foot-4 target’s head where only the receiver could reach out. But the ball went through Hurst’s hands for an incompletion.

Bucs WR Ted Hurst – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
With so many high-point catches at Georgia State, as well as a few in camp so far, Hurst should have come down with that one. Drops are always tough in practice, but drops in the end zone sting a little more.
Bucs Offensive Line In Pass Protection
I’ll start by saying the offensive line – especially the second unit – did a much better job of opening up holes in the running game on Friday. Both Kadarius Calloway and Josh Williams ripped off several big runs. But the pass protection was a different story, especially along the interior as the defensive tackles overwhelmed the guards and centers and collapsed the pocket a few times.
The play at offensive tackle was better, but there were too many sacks given up inside by A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches as well as by linebackers Alex Anzalone and Josiah Trotter against the first-team and second-team units.
Pewter Report Recaps Today’s Bucs Camp Practice On The Pewter Report Podcast
Join Scott Reynolds and Adam Slivon break down all of the action from Tampa Bay’s Friday practice at 4:00 p.m. ET on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel for Friday’s Pewter Report Podcast.
Scott Reynolds is in his 30th year of covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the vice president, publisher and senior Bucs beat writer for PewterReport.com. Author of the popular SR's Fab 5 column on Fridays, Reynolds oversees web development and forges marketing partnerships for PewterReport.com in addition to his editorial duties. A graduate of Kansas State University in 1995, Reynolds spent six years giving back to the community as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for his sons' Pop Warner team, the South Pasco Predators. Reynolds can be reached at: [email protected]




