'There's a lot of excitement upstairs' | GM Brandon Beane refortifies Bills' D-line on day two of 2025 NFL Draft

Apr 26, 2025 at 12:35 AM

Chris Brown

Bills Insider/One Bills Live co-host

Brandon Beane. Scenes from the Buffalo Bills draft room during Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft at the Buffalo Bills Training Center, April 25, 2025.

As Bills GM Brandon Beane addressed the media at the close of night two of the draft, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. That's because with two picks on night two of the 2025 NFL draft, he effectively refortified Buffalo's defensive front.

Those two picks originally sat just a half dozen spots away from each other at the beginning of the night at 56 and 62 in round two. But eager to land one of the best pass rushing defensive tackles left on the board, Beane moved 15 spots up the board from 56 to 41 in a trade with Chicago to land explosive interior pass rusher T.J. Sanders out of South Carolina.

"Any rush (player is valuable), but an inside rush, just looking at our board, we had a really good grade on him and just felt like he wasn't going to get to us," said Beane. "So, we were just checking around and trying to find a spot. And we liked that one (Pick 41) in the sense that we could not go too far to keep us from getting this third (round pick)."

The cost for moving up to 41 cost Buffalo both of their picks in round two (56, 62), but they got a third-round pick in return at 72 and a seventh-round pick at 240. The move proved wise as the next few teams followed the Bills pick of the defensive tackle Sanders by taking three defensive linemen off the board over the next four selections. Instead of waiting for the run on premium day two defensive linemen to start, Buffalo was proactive in starting the run themselves.

"You try to do research, check around," Beane said of the calculated move up the board. "Kind of had a feeling some of those names would go early and they did, and they were not D-linemen, but you knew at some point it's going to trigger back to (defensive linemen). And, again, a guy with inside rush we just didn't feel would last very long."

Buffalo had a strong grade on Sanders, who is still young in football. He only began playing the sport as a junior in high school with basketball being his primary sport as he was an All-State talent.

"We liked the idea of adding another inside rusher, another guy to pair with Ed (Oliver) on clear passing downs," Beane said.

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The Bills had a tough time getting to the quarterback with a four-man rush last season, which is a foundational staple of the scheme's success. While they had capable edge rushers, opposing offense would often defeat the outside rush with a quick release pass game. Diversifying Buffalo's rush was of the utmost importance and Sanders, who Beane called an ascending player, will help to collapse the pocket quickly and with far more frequency.

Sanders is quick off the snap and a penetrating disruptor up the middle. He did not have extraordinary sack production, with 9.5 in his career, but he was in the backfield a lot with 17.5 tackles for loss in three seasons.

Buffalo then augmented their pass rush further with the selection of Arkansas edge rusher, Landon Jackson with pick 72 in round three. A long and angular edge, Jackson goes 6-6 and 264 pounds and ran an impressive 4.68 at the NFL Combine with a position best 40.5-inch vertical leap. A three-year starter and two-year team captain, Jackson compiled 16 sacks in those three seasons along with 26.5 tackles for loss.

"(I'm) very excited," said Beane of landing Jackson, who had the highest player grade on their entire board when they made him the 72^nd pick. "High character DNA. A longer athletic dude, a lot of sacks, went against a lot of premium talent in the SEC, and had a lot of production. Obviously, athletically tested very well. This guy is smart, he knows how to rush, he has feel in there. He's not just an athletic guy. He's got feel, instincts, awareness. He's tough. He's a dog."

Buffalo's defense was clearly the side of the ball that needed reinforcements following the 2024 season. After ranking just 18^th in sacks and needing a healthy amount of blitzing to tally just 38, while also having the 29^th ranked third down defense in the league, the two additions Beane made on night two of the draft will put a charge into their defensive front.

"Athletic ability, speed, power, all the things that you're looking for (we got)," said Beane in reference to Sanders and Jackson. "To get the guys we've been able to add, there's a lot of excitement upstairs."