Buffalo's 2025 draft class along with 12 undrafted rookies and several tryout players took to the field on Friday afternoon for rookie minicamp. Here's what some of Buffalo's draft picks had to say about their first experience practicing with their newest teammates.
Maxwell Hairston reunites with Kentucky teammate
When the 30th overall pick arrived in Buffalo the day after he was drafted, Maxwell Hairston made sure to let the team know who else he wanted them to select.
"Whew, if we get Deone, I'm gonna for sure get that ball back because he's gonna get in the quarterback's face," Hairston said, referencing his Kentucky teammate DT Deone Walker.
Sure enough, the Bills traded up in the fourth round on Day 3 to take the powerful 6-7, 331-pound defensive tackle. Hairston and Walker Facetimed each other that Saturday and both expressed how excited they are to play with each other in the pros.
"I was ecstatic," Hairston said in front of the media Friday. "Always proud of my brother, but the fact that we're teammates again, too, like that just makes it even better… I think Deone is gonna make some noise."
As Hairston aims to show why he was worthy of a first round selection, he shared that his focus right now is to make sure he still has all of his fundamentals down pat after being out of the college game for several months.
"Just having my eyes in the right place, covering the right zone, getting out faster, getting used to the cadence, and sticking to my fundamentals on every play," he said.
Hairston is already impressed by one of his fellow draft mates in the secondary after the first day of practice.
"Dorian Strong had a really good day today," Hairston shared. "Just being somebody that I'm taking mental reps when I watch D-Strong and hear him go out there play with poise and play like he's already adjusted like that was good to see."
DT T.J. Sanders : "I feel like I look good in No. 98"
Buffalo's second-round draft pick T.J. Sanders joins a rookie class full of defensive players as six out of their nine draft picks line up on defense. Sanders believes having three defensive linemen in the class will ease the transition to the NFL.
"Being with guys like Deone (Walker), Landon (Jackson), the other guys that are here with us, just knowing that nobody's alone," Sanders said. "It's guys besides you, brothers, that are dealing with the same problems that you're possibly going through."
One of those fast friends is former Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker. Sanders thinks building up a friendship before getting to Buffalo will benefit the group as a whole.
"Me and Deone talked at the Senior Bowl," Sanders said. "Just us being on the same team now and building that relationship since about February, I feel like it's really helped us prepare for what we got coming up."
Another thing that's helped prepare Sanders for life in the NFL is playing in the SEC. The DT played for South Carolina for four seasons and racked up nine sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss.
"Playing in the SEC, I definitely feel like it got me prepared to the best of my ability to play where I'm at now, just going against guys," Sanders shared. "I think this year, the SEC led the NFL in draft picks again. So, just knowing that's a whole bunch of guys that I played against over the years. It's good company."
One of the most important parts of rookie minicamp is beginning to learn the playbook and implementing what you learned on the field. Sanders said the coaches want them to take a lot from the classroom to the field in their first few days with the team.
"It's a good bit," Sanders said. "Something that we got to pick up and learn…The play book is the number one thing we got to learn. So just taking that one day at a time, making sure we study the right amount of time outside of the building, and making sure we're sharp."
Sanders chose to wear No. 98 with the Bills because he likes the way it looks.
"It's clean," Sanders said. "I can tell you that. I feel like I look good in it."
DE Landon Jackson: "Take it all in, get in the books"
Jackson's minicamp experience will be a little different than some of his rookie counterparts. While many of the Bills rookies are staying in a hotel and picked up for practice by a shuttle this weekend, Jackson decided to get an AirBnB with his wife.
Jackson, 22, married his high school sweetheart Grace a year ago, and the Arkansas pass rusher wanted her to be in Buffalo as he gets adjusted to life in the NFL. Grace, who was by Landon's side when he received the Bills draft phone call, will be by his side in Buffalo as they search for a more permanent residence.
"I knew I'd want her down here throughout this month and throughout these moments and everything. My mindset was go ahead and get my place and get everything settled," Jackson said Friday.
As Jackson hit the practice field Friday, his main goal was to "take it all in, get in the books" to acclimate as quickly as possible.
"I know we don't even have pads on, but first time playing football since Senior Bowl. So get in the training room, get in cold tubs, get a little bit of recovery and everything, and then come back and do it again tomorrow," he said.
During his time at LSU (2021) and Arkansas (2022-24), Jackson made it a priority to be in the community to be an advocate for children with Alopecia, an autoimmune condition that Jackson has which causes hair loss. He plans to continue his involvement in Western New York.
"I want to be a role model with all those kids growing up with Alopecia," Jackson shared. "For those kids, be able to give back to them as much as possible, because it seriously affects younger kids' mental health."
DT Deone Walker : "Doing a lot of drill work"
Buffalo's fourth-round pick Deone Walker comes to the Bills feeling more like himself than he did during the 2024 season. Walker played with an injured back, which wasn't discovered until after the season.
"I had a pars defect in my back," Walker said the night he was drafted. "...I didn't know about it until after the season, really until the combine. We didn't really know what it was, but I feel a 100% right now."
Even though the newest defensive tackle is feeling great, the Bills want to ease him into things.
"If we decide to limit him during the spring, that's just to make sure we are making him more ready, more durable, and letting that thing continue to heal," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said on draft weekend. "But we feel there's a good prognosis with him. We feel he'll be full go, ready to play when we get to training camp."
On Friday, Walker took advantage of every rep he got, even the mental reps.
"I'm doing a lot of drill work" Walker said of his participation. "A bunch of the indy (individual) periods, I'm still in there. Even when they're out in team, I'm getting mental reps. Just focusing in and trying to help out my teammates."
While the former Kentucky product wasn't on the field for every snap, he's still learning from his new teammates.
"Still just watching the reps in person helps way more than I thought it would," Walker shared. "Watching T.J. Sanders get out there, that's my guy. Just watching them did help a lot."
Walker isn't the only Kentucky Wildcat in the draft class as his teammate Maxwell Hairston was drafted by Buffalo in the first round. The two also overlapped with former Kentucky running back Ray Davis in 2023. Walker joked that Davis has already been a great host to the rookies.
"Whenever I need to stay at Ray's, he's going to let me," Walker said. "I know Max is already staying over there with him. I might go get a bed over there."
