Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills are coming off an embarrassing showing in a 38-0 rout at the hands of the Chicago Bears last Sunday night. Some of the Bills’ rookies were given extra playing time and reps within the blowout as the team scratched and clawed for positives to take from the performance.
Let’s talk about who showed out on Sunday night amongst the 2025 rookie class and who still has plenty more to prove heading into the team’s regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bills’ first-round selection is still nursing an LCL injury he picked up in practice before getting his first game action. The news was initially sighs of relief due to the non-severe nature of a knee ligament injury, but the timeline for his return still feels up in the air.
Head coach Sean McDermott stated in his pre-practice presser on Tuesday that Hairston was making progress, but he was still “a ways away” from a return. Hairston’s appearance on the field prior to the season opener seems questionable at best at the moment. He continues to lose valuable practice reps.
Buffalo’s second-round selection had some disappointing reps as a run blocker early in the game as Chicago’s first-team offense marched down the field. That led to Sanders getting added run later in the game as clearly McDermott didn’t love what he was seeing from the young defensive tackle early on.
Luckily, Sanders flashed some of his play-making and athletic ability as the game went on. He had an impressive rep against the Bears’ first-team offense as highlighted below. Sanders still has work to do to hold his ground as a run defender, but the flashes he’s shown with some dominant wins have been encouraging.
Jackson rightfully caught some flack for his Week 1 preseason performance against the Giants, but I thought he did some nice things against the Bears. He had multiple near-sack opportunities. A slightly quicker shed or better coverage on the back end to hold up their end could have allowed him a better box score number.
Jackson did a nice job displaying his length and using his arms/hands to his advantage against the left side of Chicago’s offensive line. He’s not a bender, but the hand usage and closing speed is definitely there. He may have been the best overall performer of any rookie defensive lineman on the team.
Walker’s mass of humanity has carried over into the NFL; he’s simply a gargantuan human even for professional football standards. It’s hard to miss Walker on the field on the television copy, and he’s shown off several dominant reps over the first couple of weeks in preseason.
Similar to Sanders, the run defense is a work in progress for Walker. You would think Walker’s natural fit from a size standpoint would be at the one-technique in the Bills’ even front, but the reality is that his run defense...
