There is good reason to believe that the best is yet to come for T.J. Sanders.
The Buffalo Bills certainly believe that to be true, which explains why the team traded up in the second round of the NFL draft in April to select the South Carolina defensive tackle with the 41st overall pick.
Buffalo Bills Rookie Minicamp (copy)
Defensive tackle T.J. Sanders, the Bills’ second-round pick, participated in the team’s spring practices but still does not have a contract. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Sanders didn’t start playing football until his junior year at Marion (S.C.) High School. He was just a two-year starter at South Carolina, and he doesn’t turn 22 until July 30.
“He’s done a really good job,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of Sanders last month. “We’re going to play a lot of young guys on defense. That’s the way I see it right now: At least there’s going to be some youth to our defense, and we’re going to be counting on a number of those guys to step up for us.”
Of course, before that can happen, there is one piece of outstanding business that needs to be taken care of.
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Sanders needs a contract.
To date, just two of the league’s 32 second-round picks have signed their rookie deals. Carson Schwesinger, the UCLA linebacker chosen with the first pick of the second round, No. 33 overall, and Iowa State wide receive Jayden Higgins, chosen with the next pick at No. 34 overall, have signed fully guaranteed contracts.
A fully guaranteed contract for a second-round pick. That’s something new.
Last year, the Bills chose wide receiver Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round. In the final year of Coleman’s rookie contract, 80% of his compensation is guaranteed. So Higgins and Schwesinger have broken new ground in terms of having their rookie contracts 100% guaranteed.
That begs the question: How deep into the second round will those full guarantees go? According to a report from CBS Sports, the No. 40 overall pick this year, Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, is insisting on a fully guaranteed contract from the New Orleans Saints because there is a decent chance he will end up as their starter.
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Sanders’ agents, including the powerful Drew Rosenhaus, will surely be interested in seeing how that negotiation plays out. It is too soon to know whether any of the negotiations with the 30 unsigned second-round picks will drag into training camp, but as that date quickly approaches, the possibility grows.
Sanders participated in the team’s minicamp last month, having signed an injury waiver to participate before getting his contract in place. But rookies must have a deal signed before the start of training camp, and Sanders will surely want to build on that foundation when the Bills report to St. John Fisher University.
“Getting to know everybody – the way of the building, the way of the team, just seeing a good, close-knit bond – is helping me learn from everyone I can,” Sanders said. “Nobody is shunning me away for asking questions. Everybody is helping me be the best player that I can be. Anybody that I can pick their brain, I’m there. Any questions I’ve got, I’m not hesitant.”
Sanders’ focus in the spring was on learning every position across the defensive line. The 6-foot-4, 297-pound player prides himself on being versatile enough to move across the line, so it is imperative that he know the one- and three-technique defensive tackle positions, along with what the edge rushers are doing, because it all works together.
After the draft, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Sanders’ primary position will be at three-technique, behind Ed Oliver. It is possible the Bills could use Oliver and Sanders together to boost the pass rush on obvious passing downs.
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“He’s a big, fluid athlete,” University at Buffalo coach Pete Lembo said. “He’s twitchy. He bends well, and he’s just gotten bigger and stronger with every year, and I’m sure that’ll continue because he is such a young guy.”
Lembo served as South Carolina’s associate head coach and special teams coordinator from 2021-23, overlapping with Sanders’ first three seasons with the Gamecocks.
“T.J. is definitely the fun-loving guy with a great personality. He’s easy to get to know,” Lembo said. “He lights up a room. Our time together at South Carolina was a lot of fun. I looked forward to seeing him every day. He was very involved on special teams for us. His combination of size and athleticism and football IQ made him a really good candidate to do some specific jobs for me, so we had a really good relationship.”
Gator Bowl Football
South Carolina defensive linemen T.J. Sanders, left, and Alex Huntley celebrate a stand during the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame on Dec. 30, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla. Sanders had 109 tackles and 9½ sacks over his final three years in college. Gary McCullough, Associated Press
Sanders redshirted in 2021, and then saw action in 12 games as a reserve in 2022. He took a big jump in 2023 as a third-year sophomore, playing in 12 games and making seven starts. He recorded 43 tackles to lead all defensive linemen, and he had a team-high 9½ tackles for loss and 4½ sacks.
Last season, he was a second-team All-SEC choice by The Associated Press after again leading all South Carolina defensive linemen with 50 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and four sacks to go with six quarterback hurries.
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“I was not surprised to see him take a significant jump in his playing time and productivity for the Gamecocks,” Lembo said. “I think it was a great decision by the Bills. I’m optimistic that he’ll continue to get better. The longer I do this, the great athletes, whatever position they play – even if their football experience is limited, by the time they get there, they seem to continue to get better and the cream rises to the top. You definitely saw that with T.J.”
Remember, he played just two seasons of high school football.
Sanders admitted that when he arrived to South Carolina, he “did not know anything about football at all.”
While that might be stretching the truth just a bit, it was fair to say he was raw, compared to most of his Gamecocks teammates. In high school, he won simply because of his size. That doesn’t fly in the SEC, though. Sanders quickly realized everyone is big. Everyone is fast. Everyone is strong.
At that point, he realized he had to become a technician. His first college defensive line coach, Jimmy Lindsey, convinced Sanders to “sharpen his tools.”
“He said I have to be a technician to play D-line,” Sanders said. “Be great with my hands, feet and eyes. Everything correlates, so those were all the technical things I had to learn.”
NFL Combine Football
South Carolina defensive lineman T.J. Sanders speaks during a press conference at the NFL combine on Feb. 26 in Indianapolis. Michael Conroy, Associated Press
After that came mastering the mental part of the game. Sanders’ mom, Leticia Williams, constantly told him growing up to believe in himself – a message he repeated over and over throughout college and now into the NFL.
One of four children, Sanders credited his mom with sacrificing her own enjoyment so her children could pursue their dreams. His younger brother, Tyshawn, redshirted in the fall as a cornerback at Appalachian State.
As his physical tools improved at South Carolina, Sanders started to sharpen his mental approach. He believed that anywhere, anyplace, anytime, he could dominate. That approach was necessary on a deep, talented defensive line. Sanders averaged just 36 snaps per game in 2024, so there was an urgency on his part to make something happen every time he entered the game.
With a great burst off the line of scrimmage, Sanders can cut through gaps on the offensive line quickly. He also has the power to stand up at the point of attack, despite being on the smaller side for an NFL defensive tackle.
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That will give him three-down potential early in his NFL career.
“I think the biggest challenge is finding the right mix, while also getting the guys the right repetitions,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “There are a lot of pieces. Filling out a practice script as a position coach to make sure you’re getting exactly what you want, it’s calculated. There’s so much that goes into it.”
As McDermott put it, Sanders and fellow rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker are likely to play a big part on the Bills’ revamped defensive line.
With veteran free-agent addition Larry Ogunjobi suspended for the first six games, Sanders and Walker are likely to be the top backups to Oliver and veteran one-technique DaQuan Jones. Given how much the Bills rotate up front, that means Sanders and/or Walker could reasonably play 30-40% of the defensive snaps.
Sanders and Walker spent time together at the Senior Bowl, and as fellow rookies, they’ve grown close since coming to the Bills.
“It’s just been fun to watch those guys,” McDermott said. “You feel like you’re trying to educate them in more ways than one, on the grass, in terms of the scheme, the techniques, but also in terms of habits off the field that lead to winning, lead to successful careers and trying to help a football team.”
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