Several of the Bills’ 2025 draft picks have embraced their offseason program, looking to prove that their rookie and injury setbacks they experienced were just that.
CB Maxwell Hairston, DT TJ Sanders, and DE Landon Jackson all missed time with injury in their first year in the NFL.
Buffalo will look to those players to bounce back in year two and take the next steps to contribute at the pro level.
One of those young talents looking to make an impact in year two is defensive tackle TJ Sanders.
The 2025 third-rounder landed on injured reserve by midseason with a knee injury, returning late in the year.
Despite the return, there was some rust and mental obstacles in trying to get up to speed as a rookie who missed a sizable portion of their first season of professional-level experience.
Playing and competing against pro-level vets, whether it’s for a spot in the rotation or on the depth chart of their own club, or against opponents in pre-season and regular season action on the field, is an important part of any rookie’s development.
For Sanders, putting the work into his strength and conditioning to fully get back to form and continue that development is key.
“Trying to come back and being an explosive guy like myself, twitchy — that’s my game, is pressing off and moving quickly. Having to think about that as I’m trying to come back was definitely scary,” Sanders shared with the media.He credits the training staff and veteran locker room for pushing him through the mental block and helping him get “100%” in a better place.
His new defensive coordinator is also making an impression on him in his progress.
“Just an all-ball approach. I haven’t really gotten a chance to chop it up with him outside of things from here,” added Sanders. “But from the times we’ve talked, it’s been all ball.”
In Leonhard’s new base 3-4 scheme, defensive tackles and traditional interior A-gap and B-gap players may be spots filled by Ed Oliver, Sanders, and rookie Zane Durant. They’ll have more lateral freedom and two-gap opportunities as a result.
“If you said any interior A-gap or B-gap players are your traditional defensive tackles, you are spot on,” Leonhard noted.
And whether it’s Buffalo’s year two defensive players or anyone else on the roster, Leonhard maintains that a key component of rebounding from an injury is believing in yourself.
“Anytime you’re coming off an injury, the number one thing is just confidence. The confidence in your body, the confidence that it’s going to respond the way that you want and what you expect”.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: T.J. Sanders sets goals for himself in new Jim Leonhard Bills defense