PR Roundtable: Who’s The Most Improved Bucs Player?

A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Bucs’ regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: Who is the most improved Bucs player this season?

Scott Reynolds: Zyon McCollum Looks Like A Future Bucs Starting CB

It’s amazing how much improvement Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum has made from his disastrous rookie season where he couldn’t tackle and had a hard time sticking with receivers in coverage. McCollum pulled a hamstring in joint practices with the Titans in 2022 and missed the final two preseason games, which would have afforded him a ton of necessary extra reps and playing time that he needed to gain experience. So when he was thrust into action last year he was ill-prepared to play defense, yet he thrived as a gunner on punt coverage.

But this year it’s a different story for McCollum. He had a very good training camp and preseason, which boosted his confidence and made him less hesitant in coverage on defense. McCollum has made huge strides as a tackler and is far better in coverage than his Pro Football Grade would suggest. In fact, McCollum’s PFF grade of 49.2 overall with a 43.8 coverage grade is downright comical.

What is the objective of cornerbacks in the game of football? Cover receivers and prevent catches while trying to create turnovers via interceptions. With multiple starts this year for both Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean when they’ve been injured McCollum has played in 367 coverage snaps, while Davis leads the way with 419 coverage plays and Dean has just 304.

Davis has a 56.4 overall PFF grade and a 55 coverage grade. He leads the trio with a pair of interceptions and seven pass breakups, but has given up five touchdown passes and allowed 50 catches for 764 yards while allowing QBs to complete 67.6% of their passes. Dean has a 64.9 overall PFF grade and 61.3 coverage grade. He has allowed 31 catches for 448 yards and four touchdowns while quarterbacks have completed 68.9% of their passes against him. Dean does not have an interception and has just three pass breakups.

Statistically speaking in coverage McCollum is the best of the bunch – and it’s not even close. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound cornerback has surrendered 32 catches for 383 yards while allowing QBs to complete only 50.8% of their passes. While he has yet to record an interception, McCollum has broken up six passes and not surrendered a touchdown. He’s a future starting cornerback in Tampa Bay. It will only be a matter of time before he wrests a full-time starting spot away from either Davis or Dean – possibly as early as next year.

Matt Matera: Rachaad White Has Been A Top Weapon For Bucs Offense

This was going to be a very important season for Rachaad White at the beginning of the year, which was also the second of his NFL career. It was essentially a 17-game audition for White to prove to the Bucs about whether or not he could be the running back of the future for Tampa Bay, or if Jason Licht and company should invest in another back through the draft in the offseason. It’s taken a little bit of time, but White has gotten into a groove and has been a major producer for the Bucs, especially over the last two months.

We’ve also learned some more about White along the way. He’s become “Alvin Kamara lite” in the passing game. Outside of wide receiver Mike Evans, White has been the best offensive weapon that Bucs have. White has shown that when he has the ball in his hands in space, he can do a lot great things.

His 419 receiving yards on the season are third-highest among running backs in the NFL, trailing only San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey and New York’s Breece Hall. That receiving prowess was evident last Sunday when White took screen pass 31-yards into the end zone – his second receiving TD on a screen this year.

The run game has also picked up for White as of late. To be fair, it was a struggle early on, but he looks completely different toting the rock than he did at the beginning of the season – and for the better. White has rushed for 286 yards over the last three games, reaching 100 yards in Weeks 11 and 13.

The run game is improving each week as the Bucs have made slight adjustments to it. At 745 rushing yards with four games to go, it’s possible that White can reach 1,000 yards on the season and be the first Buccaneer to do that so since Doug Martin accomplished it in 2015.

Another area of improvement in the 2023 season for White has been his ability to score touchdowns. Last year he had three combined scores. This year he’s reached the end zone five times on the ground and another two times receiving. They’re coming in bunches as well as White has scored a touchdown in five out of his last six games. A couple more solid games and White may solidify himself as the top option at running back for the Bucs moving ahead as they look at their offseason plans.

Bailey Adams: Antoine Winfield Jr. Was Already Great — But Now He’s Next Level

It’s somewhat strange to think of Antoine Winfield Jr. as a “most improved” candidate considering he was already a fantastic player over the first three years of his career. But his play has been elevated to such a level this season that it’s worth picking him as someone who has improved to a high degree.

Moving back to his natural safety position after spending the 2022 season with mixed results in the slot, Winfield is doing it all. He’s impacting games week after week and generating the type of splash plays that no one else on the Bucs defense is getting. He has four sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries this season.

In fact, Winfield is in elite company these days as he joined Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins as the only defensive backs since 2000 to record three-plus sacks, three-plus forced fumbles and three-plus fumble recoveries in a season. He also has two interceptions, a career-high 11 pass breakups and a team-high 97 tackles.

Winfield was already great, but this year, he’s become an elite player. He deserves to make his second Pro Bowl, and he’s worth heavy consideration for his first All-Pro nod. His play has been excellent, and he’s set himself up well for his second contract this offseason.

Winfield has also improved as a leader within the defense and in the locker room. He’s a first-time captain this year and has led with both his play and his words, with the latter evidenced by the locker room speech he gave to the team after its Week 7 loss to the Falcons.

Josh Queipo: Cody Mauch Is Making Massive In-Season Strides

Have you noticed the Bucs run game has been markedly better over the past month or so? Going back to Week 11, Tampa Bay’s run game has generated the following total yards and yards per carry, respectively: 66 (3.7), 125 (6.6), 128 (4.6), 148 (4.0). While Rachaad White deserves his flowers (see my colleague Matt Matera’s beautiful soliloquy on him), the bulk of this positive development needs to be credited to the offensive line. And no player on the line has exhibited more growth from Week 1 to Week 14 than rookie right guard Cody Mauch.

If you check his PFF grades you might come away disappointed. He is currently ranked 53rd out of 55 qualifying guards by their metrics. But don’t be fooled.

Mauch’s play week-in and week-out is constantly getting better as he takes on high-profile defensive tackles like Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Derrick Brown. Mauch is very much learning on the job as he made the move from left tackle in the FCS to right guard in the NFL. But consider the last two times the Bucs made such a transition and you will see Mauch is far ahead of the curve. Luke Goedeke was unable to make a similar move last year, getting benched by Week 8. Alex Cappa had to operate in a timeshare back in 2018 as he attempted the same transition.

What the Bucs have asked of Mauch is a herculean task. And he has been up for it. What is especially amazing about him is how he learns and adapts throughout a game. Defensive tackles may win with a maneuver once, but they rarely pull it off multiple times on him.

He has surpassed most expectations of him as a pass blocker this year, where many (myself included) thought he would struggle coming from a run first-second-third program like North Dakota State. And he is figuring out how to run block in tighter space against stronger defenders and recently had the best game of his career against Indianapolis. He is grabbing the attention of industry analysts as well.

Mauch is a building block for the future because his future looks so bright.

Adam Slivon: Luke “The Lifter” Goedeke Has Helped To Lift Bucs’ O-Line

One of the more unexpected developments for the Bucs this season has come along their offensive line. Many prematurely labeled Luke Goedeke as a bust last year for his play at left guard, but he has proven his doubters wrong as he has looked like a different – and much more improved – player at right tackle.

The advanced metrics back this up quite convincingly. After PFF graded him at 46.7 last year playing primarily at left guard, Goedeke’s grade of 70.2 this season ranks 29th of 84 tackles in the NFL.

He has looked like a solid starter on the right side, and Goedeke’s improvements as a pass blocker have been on display throughout the season, especially when he held his own against Haason Reddick, Cameron Jordan, Aidan Hutchinson, and others early on. In the run game, he has truly looked like the glass-eater the Bucs envisioned when they selected him with the 57th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Having Tristan Wirfs to learn from has helped Luke Goedeke going back to last season, and they have become best friends through their offseason fishing trips and challenging each other in the weight room. For Goedeke, being one of the most improved Bucs is a credit to not only his physical toughness but his mental resolve as well. Despite a difficult rookie year, his confidence did not waver and he spent a lot of time behind the scenes developing.

Earlier this season, the second-year right tackle credited trusting his technique and attacking practice to the better results.

“I would say, at the end of the day, just really trusting my technique,” Goedeke said. “Week in and week out, us offensive linemen go in and really try to attack each day in practice. That’s just something I’ve always done throughout my years of playing football. Practice at full speed, no matter what it is, and then the games feel a lot easier.”

While there is always more room to improve, Luke Goedeke has quickly changed the perception around him from bust to long-term starter with his play this season.