Bucs Camp Insider 7-28: Zyon McCollum’s Big Day

Center Ryan Jensen returned to practice on Friday after practicing on Wednesday, but taking Thursday off for rest. The team is easing Jensen back into action after his season-ending knee injury that he suffered a year ago.

Jensen is still being held out of team 11-on-11 periods, but is doing all of the individual work. He spoke with the media after practice about his ordeal from a year ago and how he’s re-energized about football.

Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett was held out of 11-on-11 drills on Friday, but did participate in individual drills. He will be a full participant in team periods on Sunday when the team dons full pads for the first time in camp.

“Yeah, we’re bringing him along,” Bowles said. “There’s nothing wrong with him. He had a good two days, we don’t want to overstimulate him right now. He’ll be back out there on Sunday.”

Zyon McCollum Shines With Pick-6

To say that cornerback Zyon McCollum underwhelmed last year as a rookie would be a huge understatement. McCollum missed tackles, missed the chances to break up passes and missed out on recording any interceptions in limited playing time during his rookie season.

Oh, what a difference a year can make. Team sources have told Pewter Report that McCollum is one of the most improved players this offseason. On Friday he certainly showed it, picking off John Wolford during the early 11-on-11 period and returning the ball for a touchdown.

“You can’t take the day off because it happened in the first period, but it sure was a nice start to my day,” McCollum said. “We just put that coverage in [Thursday] and we practiced it in indy (individual drills) and I was waiting for the look. I got the look and I triggered and the quarterback threw it.”

McCollum suffered a hamstring injury last year in a joint practice at Tennessee that caused him to miss the final two preseason games and set him back from a developmental standpoint. Adjusting to the NFL is tough for any rookie cornerback. But coming from an FCS school like Sam Houston, missing that playing time was costly for McCollum. He just wasn’t ready to play last year without that preseason work.

After an offseason spent learning in the classroom and on the field, McCollum has a much better understanding of the game and Todd Bowles’ defense, and he’s playing with a ton of confidence.

“It’s night and day how much more confident I am,” McCollum said. “Getting comfortable – that’s my main thing. I finally feel like I’m playing football. It’s a great feeling.”

McCollum also had a nice pass breakup on a deep throw from Baker Mayfield to Mike Evans. The second-year cornerback was stride-for-stride with the Pro Bowl receiver down the field and put himself into a great position to swat the ball away.

Keenan Isaac Steps Up As A Playmaker At CB

While Zyon McCollum made the play of the day for the Bucs defense with his pick-six, rookie cornerback Keenan Isaac, an undrafted free agent out of Alabama State, also made some plays on the ball. The Bucs’ brass feels like the team has a steal in Isaac, who has been running with the second team defense paired with McCollum since the OTAs.

On Friday, the 6-foot-2 Isaac had two nice pass breakups, one on a pass intended for rookie receiver Rakim Jarrett near the goal line and another one in the back corner of the end zone against receiver Ryan Miller.

“He’s very comfortable and he’s confident, too,” McCollum said. “He has the tools, and he has the gifts. Smart guy. He soaks up a lot of information and it seems like he only has to hear things once before he understands it. It’s going to be really fun to play alongside him in the preseason.”

David Wells Showing Why He’s TE2 – For Now

Pewter Report reported that David Wells, a former practice-squader, was working as the No. 2 tight end behind Cade Otton on Thursday and made a couple of nice catches in the passing game. That continued on Friday with an increased workload. Wells hauled in at least five passes during the 11-on-11 periods and didn’t have any drops.

Working with the starters in the final two-minute drill period at the end of practice, Wells hauled in three passes on a 70-yard drive engineered by Baker Mayfield, including a pair of back-to-back grabs that proves how much the Bucs quarterbacks have grown to rely on him as a weapon in the passing game. Wells capped off the drive with a beautiful, 20-yard touchdown catch down the seam.

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Wells is entering his third season in the NFL, and at age 28 he’s the oldest player in the Bucs tight end room. The team is anxious to see how he fares as a blocker when the pads come on, but right now Wells is showing that he can certainly catch the ball.

Bucs Practice Observations

• Baker Mayfield took over as the starting quarterback on Friday after Kyle Trask started on Thursday. He had three really nice touchdown passes in the 11-on-11 practice periods. His first was a quick slant inside the 5-yard line to Mike Evans, who beat cornerback Jamel Dean in coverage. Mayfield must have hit Evans with five or six completions on Friday, targeting him more than any other receiver.

The next TD was a high strike to a leaping Chris Godwin, who skied over rookie safety Kaevon Merriweather for a score. His third came at the end of practice, hitting David Wells for a TD to cap off a 70-yard scoring drive in a two-minute period.

Trask was working with the second-team and had a couple of highlight plays. He took off running up the middle while flushed from the pocket and scrambled in for a touchdown, showing his increased mobility. At the end of practice he rifled the ball to wide receiver Ryan Miller, who made a few nice catches on the day, for a touchdown in the two-minute drill.

• Nick Leverett was the starting center on Friday during 11-on-11 team periods with Robert Hainsey moving over to second-string left guard. Hainsey has been starting at center in 11-on-11s in place of Ryan Jensen.

• Both kickers Rodrigo Blankenship and Chase McLaughlin were perfect on Friday. Each made his 58-yard field goal with ease, which was nice to see. Blankenship hasn’t missed a field goal yet, while McLaughlin missed a 53-yarder on Thursday.

• The Bucs are blitzing strong safety Ryan Neal quite a bit in training camp so far. Antoine Winfield Jr. led all Bucs defensive backs with four sacks last season. Neal could challenge for that distinction this season if he’s continued to be deployed as a blitzer and gets to the quarterback and finishes the plays.

• Tampa Bay had receivers Deven Thompkins taking first reps at punt returner on Friday, followed by rookie receiver Trey Palmer and second-year wideout Kaylon Geiger as the third-stringer. Geiger has seen increased work in the slot with the starters on offense.