Examining Zyon McCollum’s Struggles In Coverage

The past three weeks has been his worst stretch since his rookie year in 2022. He’s allowed 16 catches, 239 yards and two touchdowns in three games. Defenses have discovered that McCollum isn’t right, and they are exploiting that fact. The Rams and Bills took that to the nth degree, targeting him on almost 30% of his coverage reps.

What’s Changed With Zyon McCollum?

It doesn’t look like a physical issue with Zyon. He’s been been slow to react, but it seems to be more mental than physical. He hasn’t been listed on any recent injury reports.

But most of his issues just look to be him oscillating between guessing wrong or reading and reacting slowly to receiver stems. McCollum’s tape shows a player who has lost all confidence. Head coach Todd Bowles spoke to as much in his Monday press conference.

“He had a couple bad plays in the first half,” Bowles said. “I think the last three weeks, he’s got to correct a lot of things within himself. He’s one of our best athletes and best players, and he’s got to get himself out of that rut. We’ve got to help him get out of it. We rely on him to make some plays. He had a rough outing yesterday – he’s got to come back and recover.”

Some of those bad plays Bowles spoke to:

So many of his worst reps are just not anticipating how he is going to play stems that cross his face.

His struggles aren’t limited to zone coverage – where he thrived last year. In man coverage he is making the similar mistakes.

These mistakes have become a big problem for the defense as offenses are targeting him with regularity.

Bucs Need Zyon McCollum Has To Step Up

The Bucs made a big investment in Zyon McCollum when they extended him. General manager Jason Licht chose to pay him after a strong but inconsistent 2024 season. He is now the seventh-highest paid player on the team. Yet he isn’t playing like the seventh-highest paid player on the defense right now. Without defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and outside linebacker Haason Reddick, the Bucs pass rush is limping through the season and asking more of its second level defenders.

In order to accomplish this goal, the back end has to be on point. Defensive backs have to contest catches better. They have to stay in phase better. They have to play fast and instinctual. McCollum has done anything but those things.

The upcoming schedule for the Bucs is not nearly as rough as the past month’s slate. They will face the 15th, 28th, 22nd, 25th and 20th ranked passing attacks in the NFL. This serves as an opportunity for McCollum to regain the mojo he had early last year in preparation for the playoffs that the Bucs are still favored to make.