Zyon McCollum: 'Tom Brady treats every day like it's game day' and 'Baker Mayfield is a dudes dude'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum was not yet a year old when Tom Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots.

So it was a surreal experience for the 25-year-old to be lining up against the GOAT in practice.

McCollum was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 Draft and has developed into a key figure in Tampa Bay's secondary, ranking third in the NFL for pass breakups this season.

He has been to the playoffs in every season of his short career, once with Brady and now for a second time with Baker Mayfield.

McCollum sat down with talkSPORT ahead of a wild-card round showdown with the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football.

It took him just one practice session to see the competitive edge that helped Brady win seven Super Bowl rings - the last of which came as a Buccaneer in 2021.

"Going into a team and seeing somebody like that who we know is the greatest of all time, it was just a surreal moment for me," the 25-year-old said.

"Being in my first year in the league and seeing a guy who we used to talk about at the lunch table in middle school and talk trash about and talk up and talk good about. Now I'm his teammate. It was definitely a surreal moment.

"The type of person that he is and the intensity that he brings to practice every day, I've never seen somebody get more angry at not completing a pass on the first day of practice.

"This guy, treats every day like it's game day. And that kind of helped build our culture to what it is today too. There are guys who still remember him being around this building and the energy that he carries is still, we're still feeding off of that.

"Just having a guy like that, being able to experience a guy like that, I'm glad that I was there before he retired."

Brady retired in 2021 before returning for one final season and ultimately calling it a day a year later.

His passage into the Fox Sports booth and becoming a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders opened the door for Mayfield to revive his career in Florida.

McCollum, whose twin brother Tristin plays safety for the playoff NFC rival Philadelphia Eagles, is a big fan of the all-action passer and what he brings to the locker room.

"He's definitely like a dudes dude for sure," he said. "I mean, he's the type of guy who's going to be loud. He's going to talk trash. He's going to be in your face.

"But he backs it up. He backs it all up. And he's just such a good person too, at the end of the day. Off the field, him and his family, they do so much in the community and he's always uplifting guys. He's always got a smile on his face.

"But he can have fun too, and I think that's what everybody in the locker room loves the most about him is that he just does a good job of making a serious situation seem like it's just fun.

"We've been playing this game since we were kids, and now we play it on a bigger stage. And Baker, he just does a good job of being really, really detailed, but he doesn't lose that kid inside of him."

McCollum thinks Mayfield and Brady are a lot alike - but noted some massive differences in how they approach the game.

"They both take really good control over the offense," he explained. "They're both super detail-oriented. It's funny to see two sides of the coin.

"We're talking about guys that are just detail-oriented, watch a ton of film, are on top of everybody's jobs.

"But you see one who's a little bit more strict, a little bit more by the book. And then you see another that's a little bit more free ranging and, you know, kind of trying to have a little bit more fun.

"They both get the job done and they both do it so very well. So I'm fortunate that I've got to see those guys just be themselves because they're unapologetically themselves all the time. And I feel like as long you're just being yourself and being authentic that you're going to get success no matter what."

Another difference between Brady and Mayfield is draft capital.

The Patriots were somehow able to snag Brady in the sixth round 24 years ago, while the current Bucs starter went first overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2018.

He showed why as he escaped a collapsing pocket and threaded the needle to find Jalen McMillan for a crucial go-ahead score in Week