It was no secret the Buffalo Bills needed to address their defensive interior at some point in the NFL draft.
They did so early in the second round Friday night, swinging a trade to move up and choose South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders with the 41st overall selection.
Sanders, 6-foot-4 and 297 pounds, spent his entire college career with the Gamecocks, appearing in 39 games with 16 starts. He appeared in 13 games and made nine starts in 2024, finishing with 50 tackles (seven for loss) and four sacks. In 2023, he started seven games and finished with 43 tackles (9陆 for loss), 4陆 sacks and four passes defensed.
On a conference call with local media Friday night, the 21-year-old Sanders called himself 鈥渁 guy who plays with a high IQ, adaptable, explosive, twitchy. Can play the run, can rush the passer. I feel like that鈥檚 just me.鈥
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South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders joined the Buffalo Bills on Friday night as a second-round draft pick.
The Bills will be counting on that.
General manager Brandon Beane said he wanted to add 鈥渁nother guy to pair with Ed (Oliver) on clear passing downs. But we could still play him at one (technique) if we wanted to.鈥
Beane said Sanders鈥 more natural position, however, is the three-technique, between the guard and tackle.
Sanders said he split his time about evenly between the three-technique and one-technique defensive tackle last season. He weighed 297 pounds at the NFL scouting combine and 305 pounds at South Carolina鈥檚 pro day, and he played last season at about 300 pounds.
In Beane鈥檚 mind, the value of a quality interior pass rusher justified the acquisition cost of trading up. The Bills moved up 15 spots in the second round, trading away picks 56 and 62 along with No. 109 overall in the fourth round. In exchange, they received No. 41 overall, No. 72 (third round) and No. 240 (seventh round).
鈥淛ust looking at our board, the value we had on him, it鈥檚 just 鈥 we had a really good grade on him and just felt like it wasn鈥檛 going to get to us, so we were just checking around and trying to find a spot,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淲e liked that one in the sense that we could not go too far (down from the second round to the third round).鈥
In the third round, the Bills stayed on the defensive line to select Arkansas edge rusher Landon Jackson. The additions of Sanders and Jackson, combined with the free-agency signings of Joey Bosa, Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi, have transformed the team鈥檚 defensive line.
The Bills spent their first three draft picks this weekend on Southeastern Conference players 鈥 all of them on defense. They took Kentucky cornerback Max Hairston at No. 30 overall Thursday night.
鈥淚 think if you look back, we鈥檝e spent a decent amount of capital, whether it鈥檚 in free agency or the draft, on both sides of the ball,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 found anything that鈥檚 changed my mind on that. We鈥檝e got to protect Josh Allen and we鈥檝e got to get after the opposing quarterback.鈥
Like Hairston, Sanders made a top-30 visit to the Bills.
鈥淚 just feel like I made a good impression when we had our visit,鈥 Sanders said. 鈥淔eel like they liked my film a lot and could use me.鈥
Sanders grew up in Marion, S.C., and was primarily a basketball player when he was younger. He was a four-year varsity letterman in basketball, and earned all-state honors as a junior forward after averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds per game.
鈥(On) my tape a lot, you see me stunting to another gap quickly,鈥 Sanders said. 鈥淚 feel like that (basketball background) definitely attributed to it. Just me having that lateral movement, so sudden. Like when I鈥檓 stunting, I feel like I鈥檓 doing a crossover. ... You know, get to the basket. That鈥檚 kind of how I describe it.鈥
He played football in middle school but didn鈥檛 return to the sport until his junior year of high school. Sanders made 26 tackles and two sacks in his first season back playing football. As a senior, Sanders led Marion High School to an 8-2 record and a spot in the 2A state championship game for the first time in 33 years. He had 59 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, six sacks and one fumble recovery for a touchdown while being named the South Carolina Defensive Player of the Year.
Beane said he sees Sanders鈥 relative inexperience as a positive.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just a naturally gifted athlete with power, still growing, still ascending,鈥 the GM said. 鈥淲e think there is a lot in there that we think we can get with pro coaching. I think he鈥檚 got a nice, high ceiling. We鈥檝e got to get him in here and get him into our program, but excited to be able to land him in the second round.鈥
