The Buffalo Bills aren’t known for playing their defensive linemen in multiple positions like they are their offensive linemen. Usually, if a player is drafted as a defensive end, that’s where he’s playing. The same goes for defensive tackle, although there is some nuance to that given the former defense’s need for one-tech and three-tech players.
Sometimes, though, there are players who can fill multiple roles up front. Rare are the players who can go both inside and outside along the defensive line,
but last year, the Bills ended up playing a rookie in a more versatile role. Was that sheerly out of necessity, or were the Bills forecasting that player’s future?
Perhaps it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, but in today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a young player who will likely see time at multiple spots along Buffalo’s new-look defensive line.
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Name: T.J. Sanders
Number: 98
Position: DT
Height/Weight: 6’4” 297 lbs.
Age: 23 (24 on 7/30/2027)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the second round (No. 41 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft)
College: South Carolina
Acquired: Second-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Sanders enters the second year of his four-year rookie contract. For the 2026 seaosn, his cap hit is $2,419,411. If he’s released, Buffalo will carry a dead cap charge of $8,136,967.
2025 Recap: In the early going, Sanders played more than perhaps Buffalo thought he would thanks to an injury to Ed Oliver. Sanders was pushed around in those early matchups, as he was consistently beaten at the point of attack, and he looked especially weak in his anchor against the run. He totaled just two tackles in his first four games. However, a knee injury suffered before Buffalo played the New England Patriots led the team to place him on injured reserve. When he returned, he looked like a far better player. Sanders was activated from IR ahead of Buffalo’s Week Eleven matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he had three tackles in that game alone. He finished the regular season strong, and he even made his first career starts in Buffalo’s last two regular season games. He played a mix of defensive tackle and defensive end, proving to be quite versatile in addition to showing his overall improvement. He had 16 tackles, one sack, and one pass knockdown during the regular season. Although he played 35 total snaps in the playoffs, he did not register on the stat sheet.
Positional outlook: Sanders is one of eight defensive tackles listed on the current roster. Tommy Akingbesote, DeWayne Carter, Deone Walker, Ed Oliver, Zion Logue, Zane Durant, and Phidarian Mathis are the others. Landon Jackson and Kody Huisman are listed at defensive end, which is another spot where Sanders may see time this season.
2026 Offseason: Sanders is healthy and participating in offseason work to date.
2026 Season outlook: As strange as it seems, Sanders’ experience at multiple spots last season will likely give him a leg up this year in new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s scheme. It wasn’t exactly ideal to watch Sanders, who we assumed would be a three-tech defensive tackle in former head coach Sean McDermott’s scheme, play defensive end, but in Leonhard’s new odd-man front, it’s not only possible that Sanders will line up at DE, it’s likely. Arguably, Sanders played better at defensive end last season than he did at defensive tackle, so perhaps McDermott was on to something when he was playing Sanders there out of necessity.
Sanders is a roster lock this season, but his role is what we’ll have to see as the Bills move through camp. Ideally, he sees significant time as a starting down lineman in a 4i or 5-tech role. He’ll need to be better in his anchor, and hopefully a year in a professional strength and conditioning program will help in that regard. Can Sanders find the gear that he showed while a member of the Gamecocks, where he totaled 17.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks across three seasons? That would certainly be nice, but Buffalo can’t necessarily count on that, either.
We don’t know how often Leonhard will rotate his defensive linemen, so it’s possible that Sanders could be in line for a greater percentage of snaps than he had under McDermott, who was notorious for rotating his defensive line constantly within games. Either way, the Bills would like to see Sanders take a great leap forward in his second season.
Shifting to a more attack-oriented defense could be just what the doctor ordered, and Sanders has the ability to play multiple spots on the defensive line. He’ll be a big part of the rotation this year provided that he stays healthy.
