With the Bucs having played nine games this season, it has been enough of a sample size to determine which hot starts are for real. In particular, two players have stood out for their strong play and look to be building blocks for the future.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently went over the highest-graded and surprise players for each NFL team.

It may surprise you who they picked for Tampa Bay.

CB Zyon McCollum Is The Bucs’ Highest-Graded Player

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

Entering this season, Zyon McCollum took hold of the starting cornerback duties, and most expected him to look better than he had in his first two seasons. No one could have seen this coming, though.

His 86.9 PFF grade is the highest of any Bucs player on the team – and is the highest of the 108 cornerbacks they have ranked across the league.

McCollum has gone from a promising cornerback with tools to an elite shutdown cornerback who displays his set of tools every game. Earlier this year, he credited a mindset change to his continued improvement on the field.

This is what PFF had to say about McCollum’s exponential rise.

McCollum’s 2024 play would not have been anticipated whatsoever, considering his first two seasons. The 25-year-old posted overall grades of 46.3 and 50.4 in his first two years but has skyrocketed to an 86.9 mark, the best among all cornerbacks. McCollum’s 88.2 coverage grade ranks fifth among qualified defenders.

After not recording an interception across his first two seasons, McMollum has two interceptions in nine games this year. He already has a career-high in passes defended (10), and with 45 total tackles, he is on pace to set a career-high with 85.

His elite play has been the Bucs’ defense saving grace as the unit ranks toward the bottom of the league in most categories. It’s been especially key for McCollum to step up this season considering he stepped into the CB1 role with Jamel Dean once again dealing with injury issues.

RB Bucky Irving Has Been The Bucs’ Biggest Surprise

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Coming into the year, third-year running back Rachaad White was expected to see the most playing time in the backfield, with Bucky Irving being his change-of-pace complement. At the midseason point though, Irving has outplayed White and is the team’s leading rusher by a substantial margin.

The two had been on a nearly even 50/50 carry split until recently. Over the past two games, the fourth-round rookie has received the most carries and has also had 10 receptions over that same time frame after having just 13 receptions over his first seven games. Safe to say that Irving has become more of a factor in offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s plans.

In doing so, he has been an efficient runner, and PFF is a fan of his work up to this point.

The Buccaneers had a bit of uncertainty surrounding the team’s running back position, but Irving has helped render it a three-headed monster. The Oregon product has posted an 82.5 overall grade, including an 80.0 rushing mark and an 84.8 receiving grade. Irving’s receiving grade is the third-best among qualified running backs.

“I did that in college,” Irving said this week about his receiving skills being utilized. “That’s what they brought me here for, to catch balls out of the backfield, protect [the quarterback], and run the football.”

The Bucs’ run game ranked dead last in the league in both 2022 and 2023, and Irving is a big reason why it has taken off in 2024 and currently ranks in the top half of the NFL.