The Bucs will not only use the 2024 offseason program to work on the players getting bigger and stronger in the weight room as well as getting faster, but also to improve in certain areas. While head coach Todd Bowles will be installing some new wrinkles on defense and new offensive coordinator Liam Coen and his new assistants will be installing a new playbook, each Bucs player will be tasked with honing their skills and working on some individual weaknesses.

With input from the Bucs coaches and front office members, as well as my own analysis and observations, I’ve come up with one specific area for each player to work on heading into training camp and the 2024 season. I’m only evaluating players who saw true playing time last year in Tampa Bay and leaving rookies and newly acquired free agents that played elsewhere out of the equation.

This is the seventh part of an eight-part series that will examine a position group or two of Bucs players. Today, it’s Tampa Bay’s cornerbacks. Next up will be the Bucs safeties.

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: QB, RBs

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: WRs, TEs

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: O-Line

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: D-Line

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: OLBs

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: ILBs

Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve: Cornerbacks

CB Jamel Dean – Stay Healthy

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

Injuries are rarely a player’s fault, and Dean does a good job of offseason training. But Dean needs to find a way to stay on the field. He’s missed six games over the past two seasons and Dean has never started every game in any of his five NFL seasons. The closest he came was starting 15 of 17 games during the 2022 season. Last year, he missed four games due to a couple of injuries.

Yes, Dean needs to become more of a ballhawk and pick off more passes. He didn’t record a single interception last year and has just seven in five years in Tampa Bay. But in order for him to to create more takeaways, Dean has to be on the field. As Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said on Tuesday, when he’s healthy, Dean can be one of the league’s better cornerbacks.

The greatest ability for any football player is availability. Part of the reason why starting cornerback Carlton Davis III was traded this past offseason was because he couldn’t stay healthy. And when he was on the field, he didn’t make enough interceptions. Entering his sixth season in Tampa Bay, Dean is traveling down a similar path. If he wants to avoid Davis’ fate, he’ll stay as healthy as he can and actually pick off some passes when the opportunity presents itself.

CB Zyon McCollum – Become An INT Machine

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs loved three things about cornerback Zyon McCollum’s game at Sam Houston State. At 6-foot-2, 199 pounds, McCollum has the length that Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles loves in outside cornerbacks. With a perfect 10 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), McCollum was the most athletic cornerback prospect to enter the draft since 1987. And Tampa Bay also loved the fact that he snared 15 interceptions in five seasons playing for the Bearkats.

McCollum’s size and athleticism have proven to be great fits in Bowles’ defense. But entering his third season in Tampa Bay, McCollum has yet to pick off a pass. During his rookie season McCollum didn’t have as many opportunities to record an interception, seeing only 147 snaps in pass coverage. But last year he played more passing coverage snaps – 510 – than either starter Jamel Dean or Carlton Davis III played and failed to snag an INT.

McCollum dropped an end zone interception against Jacksonville on Christmas Eve. The game wasn’t close and ended with a 30-12 Tampa Bay win, so McCollum’s dropped INT wasn’t crucial. But it surely would’ve made for a nice Christmas present if he had hauled in his first career pick. McCollum actually has good hands and it’s time to show them off. He needs to be more aggressive in coverage and take more chances in 2024 to live up to his potential as a ballhawk.

CB Christian Izien – Make More Plays To Stave Off The Competition

Bucs NCB Christian Izien – Photo by: USA Today

Izien started all 19 games in the slot as an undrafted free agent last year, which was quite an accomplishment. But while Izien was never really a liability on defense, he wasn’t truly an asset, either. The Rutgers product started off his rookie season with a bang, notching interceptions in his first two NFL games. But a promising start led to a disappointing finish as he went the final 17 games of the season without a pick.

Izien only forced one fumble and didn’t record a sack. Simply put, Tampa Bay head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles is looking for more plays in the secondary as a whole, but also from the slot cornerback position in particular. The team was not satisfied with Izien’s play, nor should it be. But Izien hasn’t been replaced just yet. Instead, he’ll have to fend off some serious competition in order to keep his starting job as Tampa Bay’s nickelback.

The Bucs added a physical slot cornerback in Tavierre Thomas and drafted Tykee Smith out of Georgia in the third round this offseason. Thomas has recorded six forced fumbles in the last four years and also has a pair of fumble recoveries and interceptions, including a pick-six, during his NFL career. Smith had five sacks, a pair of forced fumbles and eight interceptions, including a pick-six, in his five-year college career. Izien will need to step up and make more plays in 2024 if he wants to hang on to his starting role.

CB Josh Hayes – Become More Than A Gunner

Bucs CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One of the most improved players behind the scenes is Hayes, a second-year cornerback out of Kansas State. As a rookie, Hayes was an exceptional gunner, and his 14 special teams tackles led the team and were the third-highest total in the entire league. But it’s up to Hayes to prove that he’s not just another Ryan Smith – a special teams ace who just couldn’t hack it as an NFL cornerback.

Hayes has enough size at 6-foot, 190 pounds to play outside cornerback in Todd Bowles’ scheme, and after spending his rookie training camp vying for the nickel cornerback job, he was transitioned to the outside last season. In 2024, Hayes will focus all of his time playing outside cornerback exclusively – a position he hasn’t truly played since his days at North Dakota State before transferring to K-State.

Hayes has 4.4 speed and he’s a physical defensive back. He has all the physical tools necessary to play defense and not just special teams in the NFL. But Hayes will need to demonstrate some lock-down coverage ability in training camp and the preseason, in addition to some ball skills to possibly ascend from the CB4 spot on the depth chart. If not, he’ll be pigeon-holed as a special teams ace like Smith was and that will hurt his value to the team moving forward.