ORCHARD PARK – Once the football jersey and the shoulder pads come off after practice, and Buffalo Bills’ defensive lineman Landon Jackson is standing in front of you in a tight-fitting, sweat-soaked compression undershirt, the hard work he put in getting ready for the 2026 season is plainly visible.
The upper body of the second-year player, who missed most of his rookie year with a knee injury, looks enormous, at least in comparison to when he showed up at One Bills Drive in the spring of 2025 after the Bills picked him in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Jackson has gained, by his estimation, around 20 pounds and don’t mistake that for the 20 flabby pounds you or I might gain before we decide to make the New Year’s resolutions we never stick to.
This is muscle bulk which has increased his strength, and coupled with a transition back to a defensive front that is more suited to his skill set as a heavier player, he believes he will be much more effective and productive than he was in the very brief playing time he saw last year.
“We didn’t get to really develop him a lot on the field this year because of a tough injury,” president/general manager Brandon Beane said. “Our weight program helped him.” Yeah, that and a diet that is heavy on proteins and carbs that has him piling 5,000 or more calories into his 6-foot-6 body every day.
“I feel like it’ll be really great for me,” Jackson said. “Allows me to get up to a weight that I feel confident playing at, which is around 280-290. So yeah, really excited for it.”
In his junior season at Arkansas, Jackson played at around 285 pounds, but he cut to around 270 in his senior year and dropped to around 260 when he went to the scouting combine knowing he would need to show speed, agility and explosiveness in the drills to boost his draft stock.
“Pre-draft training I was basically just training to be a track star and jump high, be a combine superstar,” he said.
That along with his impressive game tape impressed the Bills enough for Beane to pick him No. 72 overall, but Jackson learned quickly that playing that light was not going to work for him in the NFL. He struggled mightily in training camp and did not earn a game-day jersey until Week 5 against the Patriots.
He played 16 snaps that night, 12 in Week 6 at Atlanta, sat out two more games, then suffered a torn MCL on his second play in Week 10 at Miami which ended his season after 30 snaps during which he did not record a single stat – no tackles, no pressures, no sacks.
“I think a lot of just overthinking, thinking it’s bigger than what it is,” he said. “Thinking about everything outside of just going out there, knowing my assignment and doing my role. At the end of the day it’s football. But I feel like finally getting an offseason to be a football player, train like a football player, really allowed me to put on the weight that I needed and be the way that I need to be to help this team. I’m happy with where I am now and I’m excited for this season.”
Jackson is going to play defensive end in Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 scheme so he’ll either line up as the 4i on the inside shoulder of the tackle or in the 5-tech on the outside shoulder, and he may even see a little time in the interior depending on the call and the situation.
He knows that competition will be keen as the Bills have several options for those end positions with Ed Oliver, two of Jackson’s 2025 draft classmates Deone Walker and TJ Sanders, and rookie Zane Durant, but he said his prior experience in this scheme benefits him.
“At Arkansas I did almost everything, but I did this, being more of like the heavy big end position,” he said. “I feel like it’s what got me here, so I feel like that’s honestly what I’m best at and I’m excited about it. I feel like it’ll be really great for me. Allows me to get up to a weight that I feel confident playing at.
“Real confident in the defense, my knowledge of the game and everything, and feel like I’ve taken a major step as a player. Switching to this defense really excited me because it’s something I know, something I’m familiar with.”
Leonhard didn’t have much to go on regarding Jackson when he watched the Bills’ defense from 2025, but he obviously studied his time at Arkansas and he recognizes how the weight gain should enable the 23-year-old to transition nicely into the role he’s being asked to fill.
“Everything we asked him to do, you saw in his college tape; everything we’re going to ask him to do, whether that’s playing on the edge or sliding inside into the B gap,” Leonhard said. “I’m excited that he sees the vision of the defense and what his role can be in it.
“Anytime you’re coming off an injury, the No. 1 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. His body looks great. He’s doing a tremendous job of learning the new scheme and where he fits.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills’ second-year defensive end is bigger and betting on a breakout
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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