Zyon McCollum has come a long way since being taken in the fifth round by the Bucs in 2022. As a rookie, McCollum appeared in 13 games (three starts) and was up and down in coverage and as a tackler. In 2023, he began to take strides in both areas and played in all 17 games and made nine starts, filling in nicely when Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis III were injured.

With Davis out of the picture, McCollum has continued his growth track in his third season. He recorded his first interception against the Lions in Week 2, and both he and the team credit his ability to grow mentally as a key factor in his continued development.

Zyon McCollum Is Letting The Game Come To Him

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles is very high on cornerback Zyon McCollum.

That’s why he was comfortable having McCollum take over the vacant starting cornerback job left by Carlton Davis III this offseason and never looking back. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound cornerback has long had the physical traits, but that was not what held him back earlier in his career.

It was his fear.

Now, he does not have any.

“My rookie year, trying to jump routes, I was always scared, I was always fearful,” McCollum said this week. “I didn’t necessarily trust myself. Now that I know I have the coaches’ trust and I have my teammates’ trust and I’m starting to trust myself, I can really know what I see from film. When I see it out there in the game, I just go for it.”

His film study and preparation paid off immediately last Sunday, as he intercepted quarterback Jared Goff on the Lions’ first offensive play.

In the words of McCollum, that play is just the beginning. He has already made his desire to become a playmaker this season clear.

“It’s just the start,” McCollum said after making his first career NFL interception. “I want to get six, of course, so it makes me even more excited to get the next one. Whenever the ball is finding you, you’re doing good things. I’m just going to continue to be in the right spots and let the ball find me. I’m not focusing out there on trying to make too [many] plays – I’m just doing my job and letting the game come to me.”

Zyon McCollum Has His Mind “In the Right Place,” Trying To “Stay More Positive”

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Zyon McCollum has not only let go of the fear that was holding him back, but the negativity. While McCollum used to focus a lot on what he could have done better, he is now starting to appreciate the things he is doing right.

“I watch myself a lot and just focusing on what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing good,” McCollum told Pewter Report this week. “In the past, I focused a lot on what I’m doing wrong and avoiding that. This offseason, I’ve done the opposite. I’ve looked at – ‘What am I doing good?’ Doing more of that. I guess my mindset has kind of changed from fixing the negatives to just maintaining the positives.”

That does not mean he is not self-critical of his play at times, but he has broken the cycle of constant negative thoughts. Football is a taxing game mentally, and it only increases in difficulty the more a player dwells on mistakes and missed chances. McCollum credits his mindset change for giving him a confidence boost and allowing him to go to bed at night knowing that he spent the day finding ways to improve.

“It’s been my mindset wholeheartedly,” McCollum said. “Having my mind in the right place gives me the confidence and gives me the trust in myself to go out there and play how I want to play. When I’m only thinking about the bad things I do, the negative things, then it kind of leads me towards them in a way. Not saying that I’m not looking at myself because I’m very hard on myself. At the end of the night, after I’ve received the coaching of what I am supposed to be better at, I try to stay more positive.”

Todd Bowles: “He’s Gotten Better All Three Years”

It takes time for young players understand and process the game on the mental side before the physical side can truly be unlocked.

Todd Bowles has seen how Zyon McCollum’s mental approach has gotten him results.

Bucs CBs Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean and CBs coach Kevin Ross – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It’s helped him a great deal,” Bowles said. “Any time you’re a rookie and coming in and then you’re a second year and then to your third year, mentally, you need to get better. He’s gotten better all three years coming into this year. He’s been athletic his whole life, but he’s understanding the game, and it’s slowed down for him.”

Bowles is known for developing his defensive backs, but he has not been the only one coaching him up.

“[Cornerbacks] coach [Kevin] Ross does a great job with Zyon,” Bowles added. “[Assistant secondary coach Rashad] Johnson does a great job, as well. [Johnson] can relate to all of them; Coach Ross can relate to all of them. We have a slew of guys back there that [Zyon] can go to for help.”

Co-defensive coordinator and run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers chimed in this week and praised McCollum for how he has stepped up.

“I tip my hat off to that young man,” Rodgers said. “When he stepped up last year and the stuff he did, and we put him in a bind with some of the stuff we’ve played but [we] have him – we don’t have a lot of help. We asked him [and] he took the challenge. This year, some of the plays he made, and he comes to work every day and doesn’t say anything crazy. My hat goes off to him. I think he’s a tremendous player and [he has] a great future.”