Bills training camp rookie report: T.J. Sanders showing flashes of being an impact player

New York Times

14 hours ago

With every year at training camp, one of the most intriguing things to track is how the first-year players are doing. Not only because they are new, but often, because the investment teams make in them, it can also yield what the franchise's initial vision is for that player.
As 10 practices have gone by at Bills training camp, we've gotten a good look at their nine-player draft class from 2025.
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How have they looked from a performance perspective? How have the Bills used them during practices? What roles could these players have in their first season with the team?
After taking a hard look at the entire class over the last two weeks, here's a deep dive into each rookie's situation.
Although the Bills may have hoped for their top pick in 2025 to push for a starting job as a rookie, they now may have to follow the Cole Bishop game plan from one season ago. Hairston, like Bishop did last year as a rookie, is likely to miss the majority of the team's practices leading up to the start of the regular season due to an LCL sprain. Bishop's injury gave Damar Hamlin the full workload as a starter during camp in 2024, and the team, not wanting to interrupt the synergy of their excellent regular season, committed to Hamlin as a starter as long as he was healthy.
Similar to Bishop with Hamlin, Hairston's main competition for the starting job is Tre'Davious White, who boasts way more starting experience in the Bills' scheme than Hamlin had last year. If the Bills are winning and playing pretty well on defense, the odds they'll want to upset that by replacing one of the most well-respected players in their locker room with a first-year player are pretty low. Now, should White struggle significantly, that's where things may start to open up for Hairston. But as the Bills have alluded to over the last week since the injury, this is a critical time in development and learning the defensive scheme for first-year players, which puts Hairston behind the learning curve until he's able to get back on the field in a meaningful way.
Even before Hairston's injury, though, White was having the better camp of the two. While you could see the long-term vision of how Hairston's speed and acceleration could give the Bills a dimension to their secondary that they haven't had before under McDermott, it was a bit rough around the edges from a technical standpoint. The key for Hairston, whenever he returns, is to get to a point where he reacts instinctively rather than getting caught up thinking too much before and during a rep. A quarter of a second lost after a snap could be all the difference between breaking up a pass and losing a one-on-one opportunity. There were positive signs for Hairston, though; it's just a difficult position for a rookie, and especially difficult for a first-year player missing that much time on the field. If White stays healthy and continues playing at his current level, it wouldn't be a surprise for the veteran to go coast-to-coast as the starter like Hamlin did at safety last season.
With the injury to Hairston, Sanders has the best path of all the rookies to have the highest impact in 2025. From the flashy reps we've seen in training camp, it teases a potentially impactful interior rusher who is also underrated as a run defender. The trouble for Sanders is the same thing you run into with most rookies — waiting for the consistency to match the flashes. However, as the practices have been getting more physical, Sanders has begun to make a louder impact. Sanders has practiced almost exclusively at three-technique since camp began, mostly working with the second-team defense.
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In terms of role, it would be somewhat of a surprise for Sanders not to be an every-week contributor for the Bills as a rookie. At minimum, he has shown enough ability this summer to take an ample amount of rotational snaps at three-technique when Ed Oliver needs a breather, and to help Oliver stay fresher throughout the entire game. As the Bills have lacked some depth at Oliver's position over the last two years, we've seen his time on the field rise, going from a 57 and 61 percent snap player in 2021 and 2022 to a 72 and 68 percent snap player in 2023 and 2024. Keeping Oliver fresher while having a potential suitable rotational option in Sanders is ideal.
If Sanders begins to show flashes more consistently in the regular season, there is a clear pathway for the rookie being able to carve out a critical role on obvious passing downs. The Bills often vary their personnel in those situations, and could substitute Sanders in to rush next to Oliver on those money downs. So far, so good for Sanders. While he hasn't been lights out, he's shown what he's needed to at this point.
You cannot miss Jackson on the field. Between his height and his wingspan, Jackson is built like a basketball player, though he's got some strength to his game, too. Jackson has mostly worked between the second and third-team defenses, and has shown the occasional rep to walk his blocker into the backfield. There is some fine-tuning to be done here, though. At the same time, there isn't any debate that Jackson will eventually become a key piece of the Bills' defensive line rotation in 2026 — perhaps as early as later this season — though second-year player Javon Solomon has had a stronger camp as a pass rusher.
At least in the early stages, the Bills may be more inclined to give the obvious passing-down reps to Solomon, as he is likely the more impactful player at this point. But just from a reps perspective, Jackson has a decent chance to be game day active to start the regular season. With Michael Hoecht suspended for the first six games, and with the Bills likely wanting to keep Joey Bosa's rep counts on the lower side, there is a lane for Jackson to impress the coaching staff enough in the first six games to have a continued rotational role once Hoecht returns. If it goes the opposite way, it could become a clean one-for-one swap with Jackson becoming a healthy scratch on game days once Hoecht is back on the 53-man roster. But there is a good skill set here with Jackson that the Bills seem excited about, even if it doesn't result in a big impact this season.
To begin the first training camp of his career, the Bills have deployed Walker at one-technique almost exclusively, hoping his 6-foot-7, 331-pound frame could take well to the role. Walker definitely has flashes where he can get into the backfield, though there is some work to be done here. There seems to be a bit of an overreliance on winning with his upper body, which can work on some reps against some offensive linemen, but with the size and strength NFL blockers usually have, it can limit Walker's overall effectiveness, as we've also seen during camp.
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Having the ability to hold his ground will be critical to his future, especially in the role they've had him in as camp has begun. His first year might be about getting stronger across the board and having his game match his size. That might be the path to him eventually becoming a starter at one-technique if he takes to it well enough, though Walker could be better suited to the three-technique role. Time will tell on that answer. As of right now, it would not be a surprise if Walker were a healthy scratch to begin the year with so many rostered defensive linemen in Buffalo.
The Bills have said publicly that they are cross-training Hancock between the nickel and safety positions, but there does seem to be somewhat of a lean as camp at St. John Fisher University is winding down. Hancock, perhaps due to some injuries at the safety position, has been primarily working at safety for the last several practices. Hancock was even working in with the first-team defense while starters Bishop and Taylor Rapp have had to miss some time with injuries.
Just based on what we've seen in practice, safety does appear to be his more natural position, though being able to do a little of everything for a fifth-round pick is important. He has outperformed veteran safety Darrick Forrest to this point, and considering he can work at nickel in a pinch, it gives Hancock a great path to the 53-man roster as the team's fourth safety should he continue practicing there most often. His special teams ability could even yield Hancock a jersey on game days to start the season.
What you see is what you get from the Bills' newest tight end. Hawes is a tough, blocking specialist who is functional in the pass game, though you likely won't expect him to do much after the catch with a lower average depth of target. But down the line, he can become an asset as a run blocker, and can even work in on some 12 and 13 personnel reps as a rookie. A lot of the time with later picks like this, teams just want to be able to check the box to confirm their prior evaluations, and Hawes has certainly provided that. There is potential for Hawes to have a Week 1 role on special teams, which could yield being active and maybe even filtering in for an offensive snap here or there depending on usage. Hawes is firmly on the team in 2025.
Strong has made some nice pass breakups at camp, but he still has a way to go before the Bills even consider making him game day active during his rookie season. Strong's height and length definitely stand out in their zone, though his technique in the Bills' zone system has been lacking, and it's led to some fairly easy losses in coverage throughout camp. However, there is definitely a down-the-line usable player in there with Strong, most likely as a depth and special teams piece that might top out as their top reserve on the boundary. When Christian Benford was a rookie, he was well ahead at this point of his rookie year than where Strong is now, making Benford the exception rather than the rule. But there is enough to like to make a spot on the 53-man roster for Strong at this point.
Heading into training camp, there was a potential opportunity for Lundt to try and steal a roster spot from someone like Ryan Van Demark, whose progress has stagnated into somewhat of a left tackle-only option on their depth chart. To Van Demark's credit, he has split reps at right tackle with the first unit due to Spencer Brown's back injury, which may have breathed new life into Van Demark's chances to stick again this year. Lundt seems to be at his best at right tackle, lining up with only the second and third units, and he hasn't quite shown the versatility that maybe they'd need to see to justify keeping him on the 53-man roster. Another piece to consider is that second-year guard Mike Edwards has done a nice job in camp, and could push for a 53-man roster spot. Either way, Lundt will be firmly on the bubble around final cuts.
Prather, the team's only swing at wide receiver during the 2025 NFL Draft, has mostly had a forgettable training camp because he's been out since suffering a hamstring injury on July 27. This is both a fortunate and unfortunate potential situation for the Bills. While they aren't able to see what they have in Prather throughout much of training camp, it also presents a potential opportunity should the injury persist to final cuts on Aug. 26. If Prather remains injured, the Bills could stash him on Injured Reserve at final cuts and keep him on his four-year rookie deal, rather than putting him on waivers and having to sign him back to a practice squad deal. When he was healthy, Prather mostly lined up at X receiver.
(Top photo of A.J. Epenesa and T.J. Sanders: Shawn Dowd / USA Today)