Defensive Tackle was one of the most highly sought-after positions this offseason by Bills Mafia. When 5 DTs were selected before the Bills picked at number 30 overall, they pivoted to CB taking Mad Max Hairston. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but made it all the more imperative that the Bills addressed the D line early on day 2.
And address it they did.
The Bills traded up, as many predicted, by trading both 2nd-round picks and their first 4th-round pick to the Bears, obtaining Chicago 2nd rounder, a third rounder and a 7th round pick in a rare 3 for 3 trade.
With the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Tanieri J. Sanders, Defensive Tackle out of South Carolina.
Standing at 6’4″ 297 lbs, T.J. Sanders is a freak athlete. He ran a 4.95 40 yard dash, exploded for a 112″ Broad Jump, and scored a Relative Athletic score of 9.38. He is a heavy handed, violent, attacking DT whose calling card is his pass rushing acumen and his flexibility. Lining up everywhere from 0-Tech all the way to 5-technique, he just might be defining what the Bills appear to desire in a modern Defensive Tackle. After gaining the services of Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi, who have both been effective up and down the defensive line, The Bills have selected a DT who can get after the Quarterback and stay on the field no matter what the situation is.
Early Life and Career.
As a high school athlete, T.J. Sanders played both basketball and football for his hometown, the Marion Swamp Foxes at Marion High School in South Carolina, making all state in basketball as a High School Junior. On the grass field, Sanders played double duty as a big TE on offense and was listed as a DE on defense. He led his team to a state championship in his senior year, and entered the prospect pool as a three star recruit. His explosion in his senior year of high school, brought him a lot of attention, as he logged 59 tackles including 18 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks despite only playing in an 8 game season. This production led to him garnering offers from Tennessee, Duke, Vanderbilt, UVA, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, Sanders chose to stick close to home, choosing the University of South Carolina.
College Career
It was a slower transition into college for the star DT. In his first two years, he largely served in a depth and developmental role at South Carolina, before finally breaking through in 2022 with 12 games started, 40 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, made his case known as a top DLineman in the country. He also was able to utilize his great football IQ to get him into passing lanes and allowing him to pat down 4 passes that year. He followed up this Junior Campaign with another productive Senior Season, putting up 50 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks. With each year he seemed to dominate more and more, leading his team, the South Carolina Gamecocks to a Citrus Bowl appearance.
Sanders made himself a student of the game and a perfectionist when it comes to technique, mastering a nasty swim move as well as a relatively advanced and complementary pass rush skill set.
How He Can Help the Bills
Whether he will play at depth 3 Technique behind Ed Oliver, or spending time at 1T in place of Daquan Jones, remains to be seen. He is also versatile and quick enough to play as far out as end in a pinch. He is the counterpart for Michael Hoecht, who at times flexed into the middle of line, but was flexible and athletic enough to line up as a linebacker. His ability to shed blocks and make guys miss, as well as keep his lower half driving leads to him seemingly always being in the backfield. It’s really amazing.
Expect DT Bobby Babich to have a field day with this one, exercising T.J.’s amazing positional flexibility to their full advantage, sometimes letting him rush from the 5T on a running down, but then a few short plays later, he could easily drop down to 1 technique and only have to change when he needs to catch his breath. T.J. is a huge upgrade and should factor into the defensive line rotation immediately.