Todd Bowles: Zyon McCollum Is The New Starting Corner With Carlton Davis Traded
March 13th, 2024
“Tough” call.
We all sort of guessed it, but now it is confirmed.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles fielded questions in a sidebar session after the Baker Mayfield ceremony today at One Buc Palace. Mayfield held a press conference minutes after he signed his new, three-year contract.
With Carlton Davis being traded to Detroit this week, third-year defensive back Zyon McCollum will take over for Davis, Bowles said.
“I said it all last year, Zyon was like a third starter for us,” Bowles said. “He played most of the year anyway whether it was the left side or the right side.
“We very rarely had Carlton and [Jamel] Dean on the field at the same time. Zyon has played the nickel, he’s played some safety. You can just plug him in he is so seamless, you really didn’t notice it.
“He played some really good football last year and he has an opportunity now to secure himself as a starter on this team and play some good ball.”
In nine starts last year, McCollum had nine passes defended. That’s the same number of passes defended that Davis had in 12 starts.
Naturally, Bowles was bummed that Davis is gone and Bowles admitted shipping Davis out is one of the more unpleasant tasks a coach can have in the NFL.
“You have to make some tough decisions as a coach and as an organization,” Bowles said.
Davis was a Bucs second-round draft pick in 2018.
Ira Kaufman Talks Baker Mayfield And The Falcons, Dumping Carlton Davis, Pass Rush And Much More
March 13th, 2024 at 3:56 pm
Not a surprise. Quite the blessing from Todd, hopefully Zyon really focuses this off-season and is ready. I can definitely see drafting a CB tho
March 13th, 2024 at 4:00 pm
good call. is it just me, or does Zy look shorter thand CD on the field. I was surprised when I looked him up and it said like 6’1″
dude is fast though and always around the ball. I expect him to get some picks this year.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:03 pm
Zyon just needs to catch the football and he’ll be ok.
Bucs will still draft DB within the first 4 picks they have.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:04 pm
He seems slimmer. Very lanky
March 13th, 2024 at 4:05 pm
Zyon is way more athletic and muscular. He needs some refinement and improvement in his angles thahe he takes to the balls and to tacklers. The one thing I love about Zyon is that he isn’t scared to hit and get his nose in it. I don’t think we’ll see much drop-off from CDIII to ZMC
March 13th, 2024 at 4:07 pm
Joe – how many picks did Davis have in his career? I believe Zyon has a few already. That was my biggest complaint with Davis – very low pick numbers.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:12 pm
Would not be surprise if Kool Aid there at #26 they would jump.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:13 pm
2023 Buccaneer Defense snap counts
Dean
712
Davis
715
McCollum
785
That’s defense only, there’s no ST snaps in those counts. Those go 40, 6 & 227.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:16 pm
We’re going to need a good UDFA with speed and no fear of contact (tackling) to replace Zion on special teams.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:16 pm
Two 4.3 corners….
So, obviously, we don’t intend to draft a CB in round 1……unless a stud falls to us……and, we just got our S.
So….let’s do G/C, TE, Edge & RB….
We need to pay some attention to our offense this year.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:18 pm
Zyon definitely quicker than Davis, plays zone much better. If we can get a decent pass rush think he’ll be fine
March 13th, 2024 at 4:20 pm
Not a surprise but hummm I guess time will tell. Bowles know his defense better than anyone
March 13th, 2024 at 4:23 pm
Btw, anyone have a figure on our remaining cap space?
March 13th, 2024 at 4:26 pm
Draft a CB in the 3rd or 4th round for depth. We know Dean not going to play the whole season.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:26 pm
Since we signed Whitehead, I’m assuming we can go back to man/press coverage. Pretty sure it was Neal that Bowles was talking about when he said we had to play zone cause some of the guys can’t play man/press. So, that’s one problem solved.
As for the draft, we need an Edge and those have the least depth in the class, and go the fastest so unless one of the absolute STUDS falls in the first round, I see us drafting Edge – maybe even moving up to get one.
Then C/G depending on if we get anyone in FA. And a good TE, though those can be had in middle rounds. And probably a CB still, likely in round 2/3. A hammer RB can be had in round 4 like Braelon Allen, or Marshawn Lloyd (though he may go at bottom on R3)
But we are now much closer to being able to draft Best Player Available, which is a great place to be.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:29 pm
I am anxious to see this defense the upcoming season. That when we will see if Bowles is a sharper HC / DC than I thought. I just saying
March 13th, 2024 at 4:32 pm
4 picks in the first 3 rounds…. can go BPA and I hope they do but only covering a few positons… edge, LG, C, CB, TE, LB. The draft is set up nicely for edge and IOL in the first 2 rounds.
March 13th, 2024 at 4:36 pm
I can still hear a certain Joe screaming “WHAT ABOUT AN EDGE RUSHER”
March 13th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Max Melton with our last 3rd round pick at 92
March 13th, 2024 at 4:47 pm
i think the bucs should getting moving on dee delaney fairly quickly too…he’s good
March 13th, 2024 at 4:51 pm
Zion is already our starter. Played more than either of the “I.R. Twins” last year.
With 4 picks in 3 rounds,
I expect Edge, G, C, and either TE or Lber
March 13th, 2024 at 5:00 pm
i’m not so sure we focus on a TE in the draft…
as the season wore on, baker developed well with otton…
and durham seemed to make a few gronk like grabs out there…
if those 2 continue to develop with baker, you might leave well enough alone this year…
just sayin’
March 13th, 2024 at 5:03 pm
rounds 1 thru 3 might be in no particular order:
edge, edge, c, g
round 4 cb or wr
round 5 cb or wr
lb and dt somewhere in the mix too…
let’s not forget i’m no mel kiper 🙂
March 13th, 2024 at 5:04 pm
Bowles is the best DB evaluator
March 13th, 2024 at 5:07 pm
If I was the Bucs GM:
FA Center because there probably isn’t enough cap room for a proven Edge and signing Bucs draft picks.
1 – Edge Best available. I expect Turner, Latu and Verse to be gone. That leaves Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac from Penn State, Darius Robinson from Missouri, Bralen Trice Washington and Chris Braswell from Alabama
2 – TE Sanders Texas
3 – G Mahogany Boston College
3 – RB Allen Wisc or Estime Notre Dame
4 – CB Melton Rutgers
6 – LB BPA
7 – WR BPA
March 13th, 2024 at 5:10 pm
Trading back a few positions in the first for an extra 3rd rd pick may be an option if there are a number of Edge rushers available.
March 13th, 2024 at 5:10 pm
Relying on Yaya and a rookie to get after the QB next year is asking for trouble.
March 13th, 2024 at 5:19 pm
If I was the Bucs GM:
Get a C in FA because there probably isn’t enough cap room for a high end Edge
1 – Best available Edge (Turner, Latu and Verse already gone)
2 – TE Sanders from TX
3 – G Mahogany from BC
3 -Power RB Allen Wisc or Estime ND
4 – CB Melton Rutgers
6 – LB Best available
7 – WR Best available
March 13th, 2024 at 5:22 pm
Got a hunch that DE/OLB, C and CB will be our Top-3 picks this year, not necessarily in that order. After that I could see us grab an ILB, a TE, a Guard & probably a Safety or WR.
I only see 1 bull RB in the draft: Braelon Allen from Wisconsin (6’1″ & 245 lbs) projected to go in Rnds 3-5. Audric Estime from Notre Dame (5’11” & 227 lbs) looks to be the next biggest and they think he’ll go in the Rnds 2-3. Personally I’d rather see us sign AJ Dillon (6′ & 247 lbs) because he’s got some nice experience & sports a 4.1 YPC career average (not bad for a back used in short-yardage situations a bunch).
March 13th, 2024 at 5:30 pm
I think AJ Dillion makes so much sense would love that move DR.
March 13th, 2024 at 5:31 pm
@ DR
I really liked this mock draft recently –
#26 – CB Nate Wiggins – Clemson
#57 – OLB Jonah Elliss – Utah
#89 – IOL Mason McCormick – S. Dakota State
#92 – RB Blake Corum – Michigan
If we can’t improve our pass rush we better improve our pass coverage…
March 13th, 2024 at 5:37 pm
adam from ny Says:
March 13th, 2024 at 5:00 pm
i’m not so sure we focus on a TE in the draft…
agreed I think they will run it back with otton. Hope we get at least one experienced linesman though free agency or trade and with all the WRs being talked about in this draft at least one. I assume its a given we go edge early.
March 13th, 2024 at 6:17 pm
Speaking of replacing starter with someone ‘in house’, made this response on another post:
OK, ‘Correcting a Mistake’.
Let’s explore this aspect of Joe’s post, shall we?
Are there any other mistakes Bowles or Licht or the Glazers would like to fix?[you know, like making Licht move up in the 2nd round to pick Aguayo? 😉 ]
You’ll figure out who/ what the mistake was if you keep reading.
One more thing -before you dismiss this as a conspiracy theory (yes I’m referring to you Tony marks), after McCoy was released, who did the Bucs sign and what # did he wear? (actually, they both wore that #, but bear with me)
Not saying this will happen, but when you see them cutting/ trading starters to clear cap space, you wonder what they are planning to fill that particular void.
Most probably, they they would like to:
A) find a FA
or
B) use someone they still have under contact
or
C) use a draft pick
to fill that void. Right?
What about a trade? Player for player, draft pick(s), or a combination?
Who could possibly fill Shaq’s spot, say, when he was at his peak?
Answer:
They may be considering a deal for Josh Allen.
Just sayin’
What kind of trade would you propose?
^^mtn^^
Since ’76
March 13th, 2024 at 6:30 pm
McCollum improved greatly from his rookie year, and hopefully he can improve greatly again, because he’s not anywhere close to as good as Davis.
Also who is your 3rd starting corner – because you’re playing nickel as much as you’re playing your base defense.
This is a huge hit to the depth chart. Zyon as a 3rd corner gives you good depth, now where is the depth?
Nothing against Zyon, I was one of the very very few on this website that didn’t want to run him out of town before last season, but man, being a #1 corner, is a very tall order. I hope he can do it, and if he can, what a draft coup by Licht once again.
March 13th, 2024 at 7:12 pm
graham barton left guard at 26 please
March 13th, 2024 at 7:16 pm
Zyon is good but they’ll still use one of their top five pics on a Corner. And The Detroit pick is a high third. Our Secondary is improved already.
If the Bucs can just land that other Edge, C or G, RB2, and another CB our holes are filled, apart from depth. Looks like a d
this draft away from being SB bound
March 13th, 2024 at 9:00 pm
Izien, Hayes, Mayweather, and whatever rookies they draft or sign will have to play a lot. The Bucs played a lot of youngsters back there when they won it all, and so have the Chiefs. Developing DBs is Bowles’ specialty.
March 13th, 2024 at 10:16 pm
It’s too bad we couldn’t re-sign SMB who was a free agent. He signed with the Cardinals. SMB could have split snaps with Zyon.
I still don’t understand in what universe you sign Chase Edmonds over AJ Dillon.
March 14th, 2024 at 12:03 am
My top needs. Top 3 picks. Edge, C, LG. 4th pick RB, CB, TE or LB. Hopefully we get Reddick for the EDGE and can get C, LG, CB and RB for our 1st-3rd rounders. I’ve seen every snap Braelan Allen had at Wisc. We want him as RB1 and R. White would be a great 3rd down back.
March 14th, 2024 at 7:59 am
Rod Munch Says:
“who is your 3rd starting corner – because you’re playing nickel as much as you’re playing your base defense.
This is a huge hit to the depth chart. Zyon as a 3rd corner gives you good depth, now where is the depth?”
—————————————————————————-
Um – hello….. anybody home? Do you even watch games Munch?
Christian Izien played pretty much every snap at Nickle last year. Izien IS the “3rd starting corner”. And for a rookie UDFA starting in the NFL from day 1 which is amazing in itself – the kid was rock solid. He will only improve.
The real question at hand is – who steps in when (not if) Dean gets hurt? So in that respect at least – you are correct. The CB depth took a hit. But thats a pretty obvious conclusion since the Bucs just traded their best CB…..
March 14th, 2024 at 8:24 am
Todd will find a way to neuter Zyon’s athleticism by over complicating his assignments and playing zone bust coverage. Can’t wait to see him operating at Myron Lewis level of incompetence.
March 14th, 2024 at 9:56 am
Zyon closed out the season being embarrassed by the Lions offense in the playoff game. After Dean was injured, the Lions torched him. He needs to get a lot better