With their first selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills chose to bolster its pass rush selecting Iowa Hawkeye DE AJ Epenesa with the No. 54 overall pick in the second round.
Epenesa is player many considered as a late first-round talent that slipped into Day 2 and made it all the way to Buffalo. Had it not been for a poor scouting combine performance, the Bills likely don’t see Epenesa’s name fall to them.
Defending the selection is easy considering Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips departed in free agency. In addition, Epenesa immediately invokes youth in an aging defensive end position group and offers the type of versatility Sean McDermott covets in his defensive personnel. In 2020 as a rookie, the Bills will play him in McDermott’s rotation he runs along the defensive line. But Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison will see the bulk of those snaps, at least to start. With that in mind, both are 30-plus, and there’s Trent Murphy to consider. He’s 29 and entering the final year of a three-year deal.
In his last two seasons playing at Iowa, Epenesa tallied 30.5 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, eight forced fumbles and seven pass deflections. He lined up and down the Hawkeyes’ defensive front and while he lacks elite athleticism and bend of a pure pass rusher, Epenesa is technically sound with plenty of power at the point of attack.
The selection of Epenesa could spell trouble for Murphy as well, who is slated to count $9.775 million against the salary cap. Cutting him would only cost the team a $1.750 dead cap hit. Depending on where the Bills end up sitting with their salary cap later this offseason, that’s a situation to now monitor.
Epenesa joins a youthful core along the middle of Buffalo’s defensive line for the foreseeable future. That group includes Harrison Phillips and Ed Oliver. Others throughout the Bills defense include linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, cornerback Tre’Davious White, and linebacker Matt Milano, all of whom will be playing on their rookie contracts still when the 2020 season begins.
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