By MATT PARRINO and RYAN TALBOT

Syracuse.com (TNS)

ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills traded up 15 spots in the second round to select South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders.

The Bills sent both of their second-round picks (No. 56 and 62) and their fourth-round pick (No. 109) to the Chicago Bears for No. 41 (second round, No. 72 (third round), and No. 240 (seventh round).

Buffalo didn’t wait for the run on defensive linemen to start on Day 2 of the NFL draft. Sanders was the first defensive tackle off the board in the second round. The San Francisco 49ers took Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins two picks later.

Collins can play both at the three-technique and one-technique defensive tackle spots. He weighed in at 297 at the NFL scouting combine, and the Bills have him listed as 6-foot-4.

Veteran tackle DaQuan Jones will turn 34 this coming season and is entering the final year of his contract. Sanders, who racked up 9.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in three seasons at South Carolina, projects as his eventual replacement.

The Bills signed veteran defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi this offseason but he’s expected to miss the first six games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. The Bills will need Sanders to assume a prominent role on their defense, especially early in the season, as the team awaits the return of Ogunjobi.

Sanders is one of the best athletes at his position in the draft. He notched a 9.38 out of 10 relative athletic score after all of his combine testing.

That number ranks 127 out of 2,033 defensive tackles measured since 1987.

BILLS SELECT DE JACKSON IN THIRD ROUND The Buffalo Bills continued to address the defensive side of the ball in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With the No. 72 pick, Buffalo selected Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson.

As soon as the pick came in, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah gushed about the pick.

“This was someone who just elevated through the entire process,” Jeremiah said. “I thought he was a top-50 player in this class. Ziggy Ansah, if you go back to Detroit (and) remember when he came into the league, that’s who he reminded me of. Very disruptive.

He has a lot of wins against some of the better tackles in this draft class.

I got a call from somebody after they watched him. They said, ‘If Will Campbell is going topfive, what’s wrong with this Landon Jackson?’

Because he got the best of him (Campbell). The Senior Bowl game, he was dominant. Then he goes to the combine and had an outstanding showing there… Once the season ended, this dude aced the process.”

After some fun battles at the collegiate level, Jackson will now see Campbell, the Patriots’ first-round pick, two times per year.

Although the Bills did not host Jackson on a predraft visit, they were in constant communication with the Arkansas edge rusher.

“I feel like I’ve talked to the Bills eight times by now,” Jackson said following Arkansas’ pro day via KTAL News. The Bills are a team I’ve talked to a lot.”

He also had a formal interview with the Bills at the NFL Scouting Combine.