5 Key Takeaways From Buccaneers Joint Practice with the Miami Dolphins

Our observations from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' joint practice with the Miami Dolphins.

May 31, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum (27) participates in organized team activities at AdventHealth Training Center Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

CB Zyon McCollum has a day

Zyon McCollum has been largely impressive all camp, but he had some trouble in Jacksonville for the team's joint practice there. That wasn't the case today.

He had a pick early on in practice on Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa to start his day off right. Then, when the two teams were doing two-minute drill work, he had a crucial pass breakup in the back of the end zone to stop Miami in its tracks. He had a hell of a day and it's definitely a great way to end camp for a player stepping into the spotlight like he will this year.

Bucs stop the Dolphins when it matters

We mentioned that two-point conversion earlier, and that was a big stop for the Buccaneers' defense. But the team came up big earlier, too — the Dolphins were in two-minute drill work with Tagovailoa at QB, and the defense forced two incompletions in a row before stopping the Dolphins on 4th down. It was a great series for the Bucs and Todd Bowles will likely want to see more of it as the team readies itself to face the Commanders in Week 1.

READ MORE: Former Quarterback Believes Baker Mayfield Can Take Buccaneers to Super Bowl

WR Cody Thompson makes his case

WR Cody Thompson has played good football, and he's vying to make a roster spot ahead of cut day. He made another big case to make team today, catching a big deep ball from Kyle Trask in contested coverage. He's likely competing against Rakim Jarrett and Kameron Johnson for the WR5 and WR6 spot, and with plays like this and a touchdown against the Jaguars, he's making it increasingly hard to be denied.

Mike Evans gets the targets on his birthday

WR Mike Evans is the big 31 today on Wednesday, and he certainly got quite a few gifts in targets. He and WR Chris Godwin got the lion's share of targets today, catching a few nice footballs in between coverage in 11v11 work. He may be a year older but he still is playing some great football.

A much better outing than in Jacksonville

The Buccaneers had a rough time in Jacksonville, getting burned by quite a few receivers on defense and struggling to make splash plays on offense. That wasn't the case here, as a few deep balls — the one to Thompson mentioned above and a nice deep connection between QB Baker Mayfield and WR Jalen McMillan — and some good defense breakups.

Wednesday was a much better joint practice day, and against an arguably better team. That's some good momentum, and Todd Bowles and his Buccaneers should think about how to keep it going heading into the preseason game against the Dolphins on Friday.

READ MORE: Former Bucs QB Tom Brady Reveals His Top Five Active NFL Quarterbacks

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