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RD 2, Pick 54: DE AJ Epenesa, University of Iowa


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3 minutes ago, TFBillsfan said:

Your upset we drafted a player that will be a “solid” starter? SMH

 
No he said he was disappointed that was the extent of the upside, not that he thought that’s what he actually will be 

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6 minutes ago, par73 said:

I would describe Epenesa as "plodding." Definitely not a dynamic pass rusher (otherwise wouldn't have been available here). I am not a fan.

For those talking about RB-- I loved Dobbins, but knew the Bills wouldn't address the position in the 2nd round

This is a terrible pick. This guy mark my words will be Chris Kelsay reincarnated. Slow 40 time, scouted slow off the snap. Would it have killed Sean to go offense @ 54. Not to mention two of our rivals take Dobbins & Mims. 

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Just now, LABILLBACKER said:

This is a terrible pick. This guy mark my words will be Chris Kelsay reincarnated. Slow 40 time, scouted slow off the snap. Would it have killed Sean to go offense @ 54. Not to mention two of our rivals take Dobbins & Mims. 

Mark your own words b.c I doubt you will ever quote them in the future.

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Just now, Kenosha2Buffalo said:

Amazing pick. He dominated big ten lineman his entire time at Iowa. Don't understand how people dislike this pick. 

There were a lot of offensive toys people fell in love with (Dobbins, Mims, Edwards).

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9 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

What did the best offensive line prospects in the draft have to say about AJ...well you can read here and see what this is a GREAT pick:

 

That's what we saw. But what we heard during interviews with the offensive players who faced him was a very different story.

Michigan left tackle Jon Runyan, who provides deeply technical insights into his opponents, said Epenesa was tied with Ohio State's Chase Young as the two toughest defenders he ever faced.

 

"A.J. exploits the weakness of what I play," Runyan said. "I'm a vertical setter, and the weakness of a vertical set is what A.J. loves to do: bull rush with a one-armed stab. He's able to catch me leaning a lot, catch me off guard. Early in the [2019 Michigan vs. Iowa] game, the first three or four drives, I wasn't really keying on his shoulders. He started running downhill, and I wasn't able to get my hips down and react to the bull rush."

 

Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins also singled out Epenesa as one of the toughest defenders he ever faced, adding a most unusual compliment to his scouting report: "I thought he was a great player. He was physical, but at the same time he's a cool guy. He wasn't a jerk out there. ... So I thought he was a great player, great guy. He came off the ball with an explosive power."

 

And then there's teammate Tristan Wirfs, one of the stars of Friday night's offensive line workouts. Wirfs didn't hesitate to name Epenesa as the toughest defender he ever faced. Sure, he may be a teensy bit biased, but players rarely single out teammates when answering "toughest opponent" questions. 

 

"We had some battles," Wirfs said. "When I met with the Broncos, they said a scout was there [at Iowa practice] and I didn't lose to A.J. So I said, 'I'm glad you were there on that day.'"

 

"It goes back and forth, me and him," Wirfs added. "He was one of my best friends on the team. We will try to help each other get better. If he sees something that he beat me on, he'll tell me what he saw. And when I beat him, I tell him what I saw."

 

So Epenesa earned glowing endorsements from a first-round-caliber teammate and two of the guys who had to block him, and those were just the remarks we heard while making the interview rounds. If you don't believe Runyan, Hopkins and Wirfs, there's also the production across two seasons against major competition.

 

And also there's the tape, which shows opponents redesigning their offenses to corral him. At one point against Minnesota, for example, Epenesa was chipped by the tight end before a route, and then chipped by a running back before a route, with the left tackle backing up to engage Epenesa after he worked his way through that whole bag of chips. (It's at the 2:09 mark on this cutup.)

 

 

BUMPING this post I made earlier...read what the top OL LINE PROSPECTS who FACED him had to say about AJ.  

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I love this pick.

 

Getting a DE with his level of talent this late in the draft is a huge win.

 

I think he'll be a better pass rusher than people think. He doesn't have flashy moves, but he's hard to block and he gets to the QB. Plus, on obvious passing downs you can kick him inside.

 

He looks to be a monster against the run too. No one's running his way on 3rd and short.

 

Bills DL is going to be nasty.

 

 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, par73 said:

I would describe Epenesa as "plodding." Definitely not a dynamic pass rusher (otherwise wouldn't have been available here). I am not a fan.

For those talking about RB-- I loved Dobbins, but knew the Bills wouldn't address the position in the 2nd round

 Not a dominating pass rusher, yet he led the big 10 in sacks in 2017, 2018 and 2019.....

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3 minutes ago, TigerJ said:

High floor, not a real high ceiling.  He's thought of as strong, but interestingly at the combine, his bench press was tied for the worst in the group.  Most already know his 40 time and 10 yard split were pretty poor.  I think he has some ability to get stronger and to become more explosive with strength and conditioning work.  He'll be a solid player, but I don't expect him to0 become any kind of a star.  We'll see.


Around these parts he will likely be a horrible Harry type. Likely solid player, easy to cheer for but likely not a game changer and his reputation will outpace his play a bit... that’s not to say he won’t be a solid addition. 

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