1 week Ago
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 09: T.J. Sanders #90 of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on during the first half of the game between Vanderbilt and South Carolina at FirstBank Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images) Getty Images Matt Parrino | [email protected] Orchard Park, N.Y.
— The Buffalo Bills traded up 15 spots in the second round to select South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders.
The Bills sent both of their second-round picks (No. 56 and 62) and their fourth-round pick (No. 109) to the Chicago Bears for No.
41 (second round, No. 72 (third round), and No. 240 (seventh round).
Buffalo didn’t wait for the run on defensive linemen to start on Day 2 of the NFL draft. Sanders was the first defensive tackle off the board in the second round. The San Francisco 49ers took Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins two picks later.
Collins can play both at the three-technique and one-technique defensive tackle spots. He weighed in at 297 at the NFL scouting combine, and the Bills have him listed as 6-foot-4. Veteran tackle DaQuan Jones will turn 34 this coming season and is entering the final year of his contract.
Sanders, who racked up 9.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in three seasons at South Carolina, projects as his eventual replacement.
The Bills signed veteran defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi this offseason but he’s expected to miss the first six games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. The Bills will need Sanders to assume a prominent role on their defense, especially early in the season, as the team awaits the return of Ogunjobi. Sanders is one of the best athletes at his position in the draft.
He notched a 9.38 out of 10 relative athletic score after all of his combine testing. That number ranks 127 out of 2,033 defensive tackles measured since 1987.
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