ORCHARD PARK – Once he was finished trading down three times to get out of the first round of the NFL Draft, Buffalo Bills president/general manager Brandon Beane had a perfect opportunity to address a position that is perceived by many to be in need of fortification.
However, with two of the highest-rated run-stuffing defensive tackles sitting there when he finally decided to pick a player with the third selection in the second round, No. 35 overall, he took a pass on Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald and Georgia’s Christen Miller.
Edge rusher TJ Parker was the choice, and in theory that should work out just fine as Parker was a consensus late first-rounder among the analysts, a player with a well-developed and versatile skill set. Pass rush has been a constant source of angst for the Bills and Parker brings 21.5 sacks and 41.5 tackles for loss to Buffalo across three seasons at Clemson.
I’m not going to debate that pick, but McDonald went one spot later to the Texans and Miller was scooped up at No. 42 by the Saints, and for a Buffalo defense that has often struggled to stop the run, you wonder if the prudent move would have been drafting one of those 320-plus pound tackles to plug into the A gap.
Here’s a look at the Bills’ defensive line as the team gets ready to start OTAs:
Do the Bills need a nose tackle?
Their roster building to this point would suggest maybe not. Jim Leonhard spent his previous two seasons on the Broncos’ defensive staff and last year, Denver coordinator Vance Joseph used three defensive linemen on just 38% of snaps, and almost never was the A gap player in the middle in the traditional nose tackle spot head up on the center.
Typically, players like Zach Allen, DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach and Eyioma Uwazurike were lined up either between the center-guard in a three-technique, or between the guard and tackle in a 4i technique. If Leonhard lines it up in similar fashion, maybe 6-foot-7, 330-pound Deone Walker will work out fine in the middle.
Buffalo ranked 28th against the run in 2025 with an average yield of 136.2 yards per game, but more telling was ranking 30th in yards per rush (5.1), 31st in runs of 10 yards or more (65), and dead last in rushing yards per play allowed after first contact (3.93).
Last year, with clear cut better players up front, the Broncos ranked second in rush yards allowed (91.1), third in yards per rush (3.9), second in 10-yard-plus runs (30), and 15th in yards allowed after contact (3.01).
Beane has continually said he thinks Walker can be a nose tackle type and isn’t willing to concede that his height could be problematic in terms of gaining leverage because you would think offensive linemen will be able to get under Walker’s pads and drive him out of the hole.
After the draft, Beane also mentioned DeWayne Carter, returning from a torn Achilles, has added some bulk during his time away and he could be an option in the nose role. But relying on Carter feels like a reach, while the other candidates on the roster are Phidarian Mathis and Zion Logue, and the Bills shouldn’t be living in a world where those two players are getting regular rotational snaps.
Where do the 2025 draft picks play?
The Bills took three linemen in the first four rounds in 2025 – TJ Sanders in the second, Landon Jackson in the third, and Walker in the fourth. Walker was by far the best of the bunch and he and Ed Oliver will be obvious starters and key contributors this year.
But Sanders and Jackson were drafted to play tackle and edge, respectively, in a four-man front and they’re going to have to find their niche in the three-man front.
Sanders showed some versatility last year when he played a bit on the edge when the Bills were in an injury crunch, but he really didn’t distinguish himself in any way. Jackson’s rookie year was a complete bust as he looked lost in training camp, was a healthy scratch early in the season, then blew out his knee and wound up appearing in just two games.
“Landon Jackson, as I think I stated here before, will probably be more of that 4i role for us,” Beane said, taking him out of the edge/outside linebacker mix. “Our weight program helped him. Credit to (Jackson and Carter) and the strength staff, those two guys have really added some good bulk and strength for the positions that we’re going to ask them to play in this defense.”
On Sanders, coach Joe Brady said, “TJ’s doing everything the right way right now. He was a second-round draft pick last year, there’s a clear vision for how to utilize him, understanding what he does well. Jim and the defensive coaches are excited for him. And just like everybody, you’re going to improve your second year and have an idea of understanding what it takes to be a pro and all of that.”
Will fifth-round pick Zane Durant contribute?
Again, Beane could have added a bigger-bodied tackle but he chose to go with the 290-pound Durant who feels repetitive with Oliver, Sanders and Jackson.
Durant was a four-year player and three-year starter for Penn State with 53 games and 40 starts in the competitive Big Ten, mostly at 3-tech, so that experience is something you notice. And he made up for his lack of size by playing, as he said after the Bills picked him, “Violent, fast, physical and relentless.”
Durant has short arms at 31 ⅞ inches and he overcame that in college in part because of his quickness and big, strong hands, but when linemen got their hands on him they could move him out of the way, especially short yardage and goal-line situations. That’s something to watch as he comes into the NFL.
“When you look at our defensive line right now, there has been a lot of investment in draft capital in the last couple of years,” Brady said. “Then you get here this year, we were able to get Zane. There is a lot of youth in there, and you can never have enough D-linemen. You look at the waves that teams are going against, speaking from a guy calling plays, it’s always good when you see the second line coming in. I think the best teams you go against, there is not a huge dropoff when the second line is coming in. So I think that’s important that we’re always continuing to have the competition, but also making sure that we’re deep in those rooms.”
Should the Bills add a veteran free agent?
Counting just the players who stand the best chance of making the team, only Walker (330) and Carter (305) top 300 pounds. When you factor in what it will cost to sign the draft class, Beane doesn’t have much wiggle room with the cap unless he does some surgery on existing contracts. But the Bills are undersized up front and it would behoove him to add a wide body to the mix.
The name that jumps out is 31-year-old DJ Reader, a 330-pounder who has spent his 10-year career clogging the middle for the Texans, Bengals and Lions. Greg Gaines, a 28-year-old 312-pounder who spent four years with the Rams and the last three with the Buccaneers is another option and would cost less than Reader.
For now the Bills are likely going to let things play out, but if they aren’t comfortable when final cuts are made in early September, there could be a sizeable tackle who unexpectedly hits the open market that would be worth bringing in.
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: What the Bills’ draft says about their defensive line vision
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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