The Buffalo Bills are heading toward training camp with plenty of attention on the Joe Brady era, and while the roster has seen its share of changes, the standard in Buffalo hasn’t moved an inch.
One place to keep a close eye is last year’s rookie class, a group that already produced a couple of immediate contributors in defensive tackle Deone Walker and tight end Jackson Hawes. But the name that has left the biggest question mark is T.J. Sanders, the second-round pick the Bills moved up 15 spots to grab.
Sanders appeared in only 12 games as a rookie and finished with 16 total tackles and one sack, with that lone sack coming in Week 18 against the New York Jets’ backups. For a player Buffalo traded up for in the second round, that kind of production fell well short of expectations.
Still, there’s a reason Sanders remains a player worth watching. ESPN’s Ben Solak picked him as Buffalo’s breakout candidate for the 2026 season, and the fit he outlined is an interesting one.
“ Sanders is an undersized defensive tackle at 297 pounds with a long and upright build. He's at his best slanting, stunting and occasionally lining up as a big defensive end in subpackages. In fact, he did just that when he returned from a knee injury to discover a Bills team with a ton of injury issues on the edge." said Solak.
“ Luckily, that makes Sanders a much more natural fit in new coordinator Jim Leonhard's defense, which uses three-down fronts and needs big defensive ends to draw multiple players in pass protection while blitzes land from the other side of the line." Solak added.
That shift could matter a lot. Buffalo’s move to a 3-4 look gives Sanders a different kind of runway, especially since he’s already shown he can line up some at defensive end as well as tackle. Jim Leonhard now has a chance to use him all over the front.
The pressure is obvious. Sanders was already behind Deone Walker in last year’s rookie pecking order, and if he doesn’t take a real step forward, his spot could get shaky next year. But with a new defensive setup and a role that may suit him better, Sanders has a path to becoming the kind of surprise contributor Buffalo needs.
In Other News...
Bills Defensive Tackle Faces Defining Test In Buffalos New Defense
Zion Logue has spent two seasons on Buffalos practice squad after arriving from Atlanta, and now the defensive tackle is getting a real look as the Bills sort through the pieces of a new front under coordinator Jim Leonhard. He has appeared in five games over the past two seasons and logged half a sack, but the next step is less about flashes and more about whether he can carve out a place on the 53-man roster.
The challenge is that Buffalos interior rotation is crowded, and Logue is trying to hold his ground at nose tackle while the Bills evaluate other options in the same lane. The added bulk he has brought into camp suggests the team sees a specific role for him in Leonhards odd-front defense, but the final answer will depend on how he stacks up against the other linemen fighting for those same snaps. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Already Know This Final 53 Cut Will Sting
With training camp set to open July 29 at St. John Fisher University, the Bills are already in the familiar spot of having every roster spot scrutinized before a single padded practice begins. Around the league, beat writers are laying out their 53-man projections and pointing to the same truth Buffalo fans know well by now: the final cut is rarely about just talent, but about fit, depth and how quickly players can adapt once camp starts.
That matters even more with Jim Leonhard installing a new base 3-4 defense, because scheme changes tend to reshape the back end of the roster as much as the top. There will be plenty of attention on the usual training camp standouts, and rookie receiver Skyler Bell is one name drawing early buzz, but the real sting for Buffalo could come from how many familiar faces end up squeezed out once the competition gets serious. [Read more 🡒]