BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Bills made two selections Friday on the second day of the draft, including a trade up with the Bears to 41st overall.
Here are 4 things to know about the team’s new draft picks, South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders and Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson.
The team holds seven picks in rounds 4-7 on Saturday — expect a few more trades from GM Brandon Beane. Get the latest updates in our live blog.
Defense, defense, defense
We’re three rounds into the draft and the Bills have picked three players on the defensive side of the ball. Speedy cornerback Max Hairston was choice in Round 1, followed by athletic defensive tackle T.J. Sanders in Round 2 and powerful defensive end Landon Jackson in Round 3.
The focus on defense isn’t a surprise for the Bills. When I listed the team’s biggest draft needs following free agency, they were defensive tackle (check), cornerback (check), defensive end (check) and safety, followed by wide receiver, running back and offensive line depth … and maybe even a punter. That also jives with the team you saw on the field last season: The offense ranked second in scoring and sixth in yards per play, while the defense was 21st in both metrics.
In short: The Bills offense is Super Bowl caliber. Sean McDermott’s defense needs to hold up its end of the bargain. These picks should go a long way to bolstering the unit in 2025 and beyond.
Effusive praise for new DE
GM Brandon Beane had a hard time containing his excitement over drafting Landon Jackson in the third round.
“This guy is smart, he knows how to rush, he has feel in there,” Beane said as he rattled off Jackson’s best qualities. “He’s not just an athletic guy. He knows when the quarterback’s stepping up. He’s just got feel, instincts, awareness. He’s tough, he’s a dog. He’s everything we want in the DNA of a D-lineman.”
Well then!
Taken at his word, it’s a surprise a player like that wasn’t drafted sooner.
Jackson stands at a muscular 6-foot-6, 264 pounds and boasts a massive 83 5/8-inch wingspan. He was twice named to an all-SEC team despite playing on poorer Arkansas squads. He recorded 6.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons and was also a two-year captain. Pro Football Focus didn’t love his pass rushing performance but gave him high marks for run defense.
Jackson may not supplant Greg Rousseau or Joey Bosa right from the start, but could develop into a quality starter in time.
New DT viewed as 3-tech
Ed Oliver is the Bills’ top interior defensive lineman. Highly athletic but a bit undersized, Oliver aligns in what’s known as “3-technique,” meaning he lines up over a guard’s outside shoulder.
With defensive tackle seen as a position of need, many observers figured the Bills would target a player who could play next to Oliver as the “1-technique” defensive tackle, aligned over the center’s shoulder.
The scouting reports on T.J. Sanders are impressive. But if you were looking for a prototypical “1-tech,” he isn’t that.
Sanders appears more in the mold of Oliver. His athletic traits pop off the page, but he isn’t as bulky as some of the bigger tackles in the game. He weighed in at 297 pounds at the Combine and 305 at his pro day, to go along with a 6-foot-3 7/8 frame.
Surely, those are NFL-caliber numbers. But it wasn’t a surprise when Brandon Beane said Friday night that Sanders is primarily viewed as a 3-tech — someone more likely to rotate with Oliver than start alongside him.
That leaves DaQuan Jones entrenched as the other starter at DT, and Beane added that DeWayne Carter could slot in as his backup. Also keep in mind that new DT Larry Ogunjobi will miss six games due to suspension.
Jackson supports others with alopecia
Bills third-round pick Landon Jackson lives with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. It affects millions of people around the world. Jackson was diagnosed at age 5.
“I’ve been shaving my head every two days since I was 7 years old,” Jackson told an Arkansas news station. “Early on, it was real tough.”
Now, he sees himself as mentor for children who were just like him.
“Both of my parents always told me, God made you this way for a reason. Go out there and help people that are like you as well,” Jackson said in an interview with NFL Network in February. “So that’s what I tried doing, I try giving back to kids like myself that are growing up with alopecia and probably going through stuff. And kind of just tell them, let them know, it gets better. There’s more to life than stressing about that. Everybody’s different. Embrace being different.”
Jackson also revealed in that interview that he is married to his high school sweetheart, Grace.