Bucs have confidence in young cornerback room led by Zyon McCollum

On one of the first plays during the Bucs' offseason workouts, cornerback Benjamin Morrison broke on a pass from Baker Mayfield and practically ran through wide receiver Chris Godwin on his way to making an interception he returned for a touchdown.

The defensive sideline erupted, and Morrison's chest swelled. Head coach Todd Bowles could only smirk.

"For him to make that play, that's the first one he's caught," Bowles said afterward. "I didn't think he could catch until today, so that's impressive."

Bowles' sarcasm has been replaced by enthusiasm for the Bucs' largely rebuilt secondary.

Morrison, a second-round pick last year from Notre Dame, looks like a different player after spending his first training camp nursing a hamstring injury. He struggled as a rookie, appearing in 10 games with only three starts and recording 26 tackles, four pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

The Bucs' other rookie cornerback, Jacob Parrish, a third-rounder from Kansas State, fared much better. Playing mostly inside at nickel cornerback, Parrish may have been one of the team's biggest playmakers with 76 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions.

Nobody was more impressed than Zyon McCollum, who at 27 is entering his fifth season and is suddenly the elder statesman of the group after Jamel Dean signed with the Steelers as a free agent.

"Coming off a rookie season and getting their feet wet, (Morrison) having to fight injuries, he looks great out there," McCollum said. "You can tell he went into the offseason and he's very detailed out there about his work. He got his body right.

"Jacob has always been a dawg from Day 1. He has that fight in him. Those guys bring young energy to the room, and being in a room with a lot of veteran presence in there, we have a lot of guys that aren't rookies. They step up to that challenge. Playing in the fire last year. It's exciting. It gets me going, too. Seeing those young guys, it's like I can't let them get a step on me."

A year ago, the Bucs signed McCollum to a three-year, $48 million contact extension, preventing him from testing free agency this year.

He responded with an underwhelming season, with just one interception and six passes defensed in 13 games. McCollum's 61.9 coverage grade by Pro Football Focus ranked 52nd among 114 qualified defensive backs.

According to Bowles, the biggest thing McCollum may have to fight is boredom. As the Bucs' most athletic defensive back, he may only get a handful of passes thrown his direction per game.

"He doesn't get a lot of action out there at the corner. He'll get about four or five plays that kind of decide the game," Bowles said. "He can't get bored. I gave him some tips of how he can amuse himself while he's out there and what to look for in certain situations that he's working on. The footwork and everything else has always been there."

McCollum said Bowles has been his biggest mentor during his career and has worked with him on eye discipline, knowing how to read the quarterback and hitting his landmarks in coverage.

"He's been hard on me throughout this summer and throughout these (organized team activities) as far as bending down, always be ready in a football-ready position," McCollum said. "If the quarterback is not looking to your side, you're still trying to fight and you know there's a chance to be boring times out there, especially in Bowles' defense.

"He dials it up for all types. Everybody is going to get some action. When your number is not getting called, you've got to hold it down for the rest of the defense and do your job and fight that boredom."

Who will replace Dean remains to be seen. Bowles always rode Dean hard for his suspect hands, although he did lead the club in interceptions last season with three.

Both Parrish and Morrison will compete for the other outside cornerback spot, although it's clear Morrison will have a role as the nickel cornerback as well.

It's a talented position group that now also includes 2026 fourth-round pick Keionte Scott, who likely will play a big role as a nickel corner and be used to blitz, one of his strengths.

They also have a new position coach in Rashad Johnson, after Kevin Ross was fired at the end of the 2025 season.

"He's been real hard on me, especially a young guy, with my eyes and making sure they're in the right place,'' McCollum said. "We pulled out some old film and he's saying, ‘The only reason you did this is because of those eyes. The reason you won this rep is because of your eyes.' Every day in (individual drills), that's all we work."

There's no question an improved pass rush will improve the Bucs secondary. A year ago, they surrendered 4,049 passing yards and ranked 27th in the NFL, allowing an average of 238.2 yards per game through the air.

But somebody has to lead this young group of defensive backs, and McCollum has inherited that role from Dean.

"I'm always just going to be myself and bring guys along," McCollum said. "I'm real selfless when it comes to that, and just being here, I've been in almost every situation. I've been in big games, I've lost some bad games. I have some experience, and I'm offering them how I see things, and that goes for them and everybody in the room who I'm trying to help and bring along, because when we're all on the same page it just elevates my game.

"When I see those guys at a high level, I've got to raise my level higher than that."

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 4:32 PM.