Round 2, Pick 41
The Buffalo Bills drafted T.J. Sanders out of South Carolina with the 41st overall pick in the 2nd round. The Bills have had a revolving door when it comes to how they’ve handled their defensive line.
Bills Recent DTs
Only stars like Ed Oliver and, more recently, Gregory Rousseau have been able to stamp themselves as full-time starters. The opposite edge has been rotating with Von Miller, who was cut this offseason, A.J. Epenesa, and occasionally Shaq Lawson.
Focusing on the interior, however, we find DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, who have been on and off the team in recent years, have been the two guys playing next to Oliver. While Jones has been great, specifically in run defense, he and Phillips aren’t game changers at this point in their respective careers. The Bills are looking for T.J. Sanders to fit alongside Ed Oliver and become one of the best interior defensive lines in the league.
Sanders’ College Stats
T.J. Sanders was one of the most dominant DTs in all of college football. Similar to Bill’s first-round pick, Maxwell Hairston, Sanders redshirted in 2021 and played in limited time in 2022. It wasn’t until 2023 that he started full-time and had an instant impact for the Gamecocks.
Since 23, T.J. Sanders put up a respectable 93 Tackles, 17 TFLs, 8.5 Sacks, 5 Passes Defensed, swatting the ball down comes naturally to this 6’4”, 300lb beast. The following statistics are available via Chad Reuter, NFL Draft Researcher/Analyst with NFL Media since 2011, as linked in Sanders’ draft profile below.
- 2021: Redshirted. Played in 2 games as a reserve (no statistics).
- 2022: Played in 12 games as a reserve (16 tackles, sack, PBU).
- 2023: Played in 12 games with 7 starts (43 tackles, 9.5 TFLs with 4.5 sacks, 4 PBUs). Team’s Defensive Player of the Spring.
- 2024: Played in all 13 games with 9 starts (50 tackles, 7 TFLs with 4 sacks, PBU).
- Miscellaneous: Brother, Tyshawn, plays CB at Appalachian State.
NFL Combine
T.J. Sanders has a prospect score of 6.30 via NFL.com. Sanders recorded a 31.5” vertical jump, 9’4” broad jump, 7.7 seconds on the 3-cone drill, and 4.67 seconds on the 20-yd shuttle. His total combine score places him at 7th in what was a deep DT class in which the likes of Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Walter Nolen, and a few others were picked ahead of T.J. Sanders and rightfully so. Sanders is a project compared to the other DTs drafted ahead of him; nonetheless, he has the skillset and potential of those prospects.
What to Expect
The 6’4″, 300lb monster out of South Carolina has a high ceiling but just as low a floor. Buffalo needs to start T.J. Sanders right away so he can get some much-needed development in his rookie season and learn alongside the dominant DT Ed Oliver. My rookie season predictions are as follows: 2.5 Sacks, 31 Tackles, 6 TFLs, 3 Passes Defensed.
The Bills’ defensive line has had a plethora of bodies lined up throughout the Sean McDermott era in Buffalo. While Ed Oliver has been a staple for the past 6 seasons, they have been unable to locate a great run stopper to complement Oliver’s pass rushing abilities. T.J. Sanders will not only provide help in the pass rush, but he will also make an impact stopping the run, a weakness of the Bills recently, especially against the likes of future Hall of Famer Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens.
Check out the most recent YouTube video where we discuss the Denver Broncos‘ moves this offseason and their potential at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
