Buffalo Bills Need to Make Critical Defensive Line Decision Involving Landon Jackson, T.J. Sanders

When you look at the Buffalo Bills’ defensive line rotation as it stands in late-spring, it may seem as if T.J. Sanders is locked into a role with Ed Oliver, and next to Deone Walker, as a starting defensive end in the Bills’ base 3-4 defense the team will deploy under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

However, upon digging deeper, there are a few other options who could supplant Sanders, who did nothing to separate himself as the clear-cut candidate for that position based upon his production during an uninspiring rookie year. Sanders played in 12 games during his first professional season, including two starts. He was on the field for 30.24% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in 2025, which were third-most among Bills defensive tackles.

Yet his ample time on the field yielded little in terms of impact, as he averaged just 1.3 tackles per game while adding only one tackle for loss and a single quarterback hit. He also recorded a pass defensed, but displayed little in terms of pass-rush or run-stuffing ability.

That will open the door for other players, one in particular, to sneak in and swipe a first-team role from Sanders entering the 2025 second-round pick’s second year in the NFL.

Landon Jackson is a bigger, [and potentially] better candidate

One of the big stories surrounding Bills OTAs has been the impressive weight gain of 2025 third-round pick Landon Jackson, who is expected to move from the outside at edge rusher to more of a 4i technique this season, lining up on the opposing tackles inside shoulder at defensive end. Suddenly, that presents a challenge for Sanders, who shared his impressions of Jackson’s physical change, which has seen Jackson go from 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, where he was listed as a rookie, to 285 pounds this offseason.

“Landon literally lived in the weight room every day this offseason,” said Sanders on a recent episode of One Bills Live. “There wasn’t a day I called Landon and he told me he wasn’t working out.”

Jackson was even more lackluster than Sanders’ during the two players’ rookie season, playing in just three games, during which he was on the field for only 16% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps and failed to get on the stat sheet. His season came to an end when he was placed on Injured Reserve on Nov. 11. However, with his new body composition, there is newfound hope that he can adjust to a different position and increase his production in his second professional season.

Perhaps that will come at Sanders' expense, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad problem for the Bills to have this year.

A new face in the crowd is rookie Zane Durant

Another less-likely option to fill the spot opposite Oliver is Zane Durant, who the Bills selected with pick No. 181 in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Durant is a player of similar stature to Sanders, who stands 6-foot-4, 297 pounds. Durant is listed at 6-foot-1, 287 pounds and is expected to pack a similar pass-rushing punch as Sanders was anticipated to when he entered the league.

Durant recorded 19 pressures on 241 pass-rush snaps in his final collegiate season with Penn State, according to Pro Football Focus. It would be a lot to expect Durant to leapfrog both Sanders and Jackson in the former Nittany Lions’ rookie year. In fact, it would likely come as an act of desperation in response to injury.

However, first-year head coach Joe Brady has preached competition throughout the offseason, and the same could be true for one final spot up front along the Bills’ defensive line. And there's an outside chance Durant could factor into the conversation.

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