BUFFALO — Defensive tackle T.J. Sanders from South Carolina is looking to be an important piece along the Bills’ defensive front this year.

However, he hasn’t signed his rookie deal with training camp less than a week away now. He had 9.5 sacks in three seasons at South Carolina with 109 tackles.

The hope is that he will fill in nicely as a rotation option along the defensive line. The Bills are in a fortunate position where their defensive line is in a very good spot. They will be using DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver inside while Joey Bosa and Greg Rousseau are the ends.

Sanders is only one of many second-round picks who have decided not to sign. The first two picks in the second round have signed guaranteed deals, but the other 30 players selected in the second round are the ones who have not signed.

Of course, with the NIL money in college football, rookies aren’t as impressed with their rookie deals anymore. The top players in college football make hundreds of thousands of dollars and maybe more a year.

If the Bills need him, I’m sure they will up the price. But I think that Buffalo isn’t in a bad situation. Sanders is going to have his chances either way, and when he does, expect him to be a disruptive force.

He had some of his best games against the better teams in the SEC. He is capable of making plays in the backfield, but it would be nice to see more sacks from Sanders in the future. 9.5 in three seasons in college isn’t special.

He has a chance to be an impact player on one of the better teams in the NFL. Second-rounders can easily be a powerful part of a team in their rookie season, or they may be bust. Good news for him is that he doesn’t have a lot of pressure to perform — he most likely will be a lovable rookie because of his current backup status.