The NFL offseason is full of moves by teams' front offices with the intention of improving the roster that they had the year before. Things are no different in Tampa Bay for the Buccaneers, as they also made moves to get better this offseason, albeit on the quieter side.
The Bucs did most of their work by retaining their key players and did little work outside of that, making tiny moves in free agency and through a trade with the Detroit Lions.
When examining that trade, it sent starting veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III to the Detroit Lions in exchange for draft capital, ultimately placing a decision on the Bucs on whether they believe in third-year corner Zyon McCollum to step up and become a full-time starter or to go out elsewhere and look for a replacement.
They decided on the former and according to ESPN, that decision will have an impact on the Buccaneers' season as they listed McCollum as the franchise's "x-factor" heading into the 2024 regular season. Here's a little of what writer Ben Solak had to say about McCollum:
"I'm highlighting McCollum here because I have a lot of confidence that Diaby is good enough to replace Barrett, and I have a lot of confidence that the absence of White is not a big one. But Davis has been a starting corner for six seasons in Tampa Bay, and over that time has proved to be a lights-out press option against opposing WR1s. He's injury-prone, a little older and terrible at catching the football, but he was a big part of this defense's success."
It is hard to disagree here. The Buccaneers did an admirable job in filling the holes that were once vacated and continued to add to their depth in other areas. Outside of the offensive line and the pass rush, the biggest question mark became if the Bucs secondary, specifically their corners, would be enough to achieve the success they have seen over the recent years.
We still won't know how McCollum will fare until the regular season begins and can see how he matches up against some of the best wideouts in the game, but his continued development since entering the league paired with what we have seen in camp should give confidence to the fact that he should and will be the type of "x-factor" the Buccaneers are looking for out of that position.
