When asked about rookie second-round pick AJ Epenesa earlier in training camp, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said that the youthful pass rusher had been impressively displaying what he’s learned from the team’s video meetings held on Zoom earlier this offseason. But perhaps it was the other Zoom conference Epenesa joined that’s actually helping Buffalo’s first pick at the 2020 draft?
Von Miller has been an elite pass rusher for the Denver Broncos for nearly a decade. After quickly building up a resume for himself, Miller had the idea to hold an annual offseason event, his pass rush summit. Yearly, Miller extends invites to some of the NFL’s best pass rushers of past and present during the offseason so the group can share their insights with one another in an attempt to improve their respective games.
Among those receiving an invite to the one held this offseason over video conference due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic was Bills rookie AJ Epenesa. On Wednesday, Epenesa joined a third video conference, this one being an interview from the Bills’ training camp. When asked about attending the summit, Epenesa explained that it was really it was his due diligence that got him in.
And as is life in 2020, social media helped out, too.
“I’ve seen it in the past, Von Miller’s posted things about his pass rush summit he does every year and I saw the link to it this year. He went on his Instagram [and wrote] college and pro guys DM (direct message) him for an invitation,” Epenesa said. “So I sent him a DM and asked him if I could join in and learn from all the vets and basically all the legends that they had in that little chat. I got to watch and learn and listen to some great guys in there… some accomplished guys…teach me their ways of pass rushing and different ways to improvement yourself and what to look for.”
That extra effort from Epenesa to get involved in the event is certainly one that Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott loves seeing, and probably is a big reason why the Bills coveted him enough to select him. On Wednesday, McDermott said Epenesa isn’t missing a beat during training camp either, despite him being a rookie during a pandemic.
“I thought he got off to a nice start,” McDermott said.
While a pandemic-riddled offseason, Epenesa getting into Miller’s summit could be certainly be paying dividends for the Bills. Others in attendance during this year’s summit included the Bears’ Khalil Mack, Cardinals’ Chander Jones, and Browns’ Myles Garrett. The summit specifically helped Epenesa improve his cross-chop pass rush execution, he said.
“They explained a lot of information on how Aaron Donald approaches it, his footwork and his hands and everything like that. A lot of the stuff they talked about I knew, but it just went into further depth. They had a further, deeper knowledge. Mine was basically just scratching the surface there so they helped me to improve some things that I already thought I was pretty decent at,” Epenesa said.
Keep an eye for the move next season, and give a little thanks to Miller when Epenesa brings down an opposing quarterback using it.
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