Landon Jackson explains how he gained 25 pounds & why the Buffalo Bills will benefit from it

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — When the Buffalo Bills began OTAs, one thing immediately stood out.

Landon Jackson, the second-year defensive lineman, looked almost unrecognizable. We heard Buffalo Bills President of Football and General Manager Brandon Beane say that Jackson has added muscle this offseason, but I wasn’t expecting such a noticeable difference.

So I posted a video of Jackson on the practice field after the Bills' first week of OTAs, and it went viral. With over three million views, clearly, there was plenty of interest in Jackson’s transformation, so we sat down to discuss it.

Up to this point, Jackson has gained about 25 pounds. He is hoping to gain five to 10 more before the season begins. But how does an athlete burning thousands of calories every day add healthy weight? Well, with a whole lot of calories and plenty of time in the weight room.

Jackson targets about 5,000 calories every day and eats from sunrise to sunset.

“I'll normally eat at home before I leave the house, eat when I get up here for breakfast, and eat after meetings before practice,” Jackson said. “I'll leave right after this (3:00 p.m.) and go upstairs, get a quick meal in. I'll eat again at about 5 o'clock, and then eat again for dinner.”

With Jim Leonhard calling the shots on defense, Jackson’s role in 2026 is changing. He will likely play over the defensive line, which is why adding weight was a priority. But Jackson decided he wanted to add muscle well before he found out the defense was changing.

“I knew what was needed, and I knew I needed more weight, more good weight. It didn't matter what our defense was, what the staff was, this and that, I knew last year I wasn't really confident in the weight I was playing at,” Jackson added. “So no matter what, I knew I needed to put on at minimum 10 more pounds. But with the change in our scheme, the way I'll be playing this year, I've decided to try getting up to like 285-290 pounds. I'm sitting at 280 right now, so I'd like about 5 to 10 more to feel really comfortable.”

“He sees the vision of the defense and what his role could be,” Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “His body looks great, he’s doing a tremendous job of learning the new scheme and where he fits.”

There’s no denying that Jackson has much to prove. Getting bigger was the first step, but production needs to follow. As a rookie, the 2025 third-round pick played in just three games and suffered a season-ending knee injury. But he said those struggles were a wake-up call that he believes will benefit him moving forward.

“God can humble you quick,” Jackson said. “You get to this level, and you might not be the best anymore, and I feel like I needed that, to kinda, I guess, push me the way that I've worked this offseason. I’ve just been working my ass off all offseason to get what I feel that I deserve, you know, and I feel like I could be a dominant player in this league, and that's that's the goal that I'm trying to achieve.”