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Buffalo Bills: 5 players who could emerge as major contributors

By Brandon Croce

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 26: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on the field in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 26, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 26: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on the field in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 26, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Buffalo Bills
IOWA CITY, IOWA – SEPTEMBER 07: Defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates his sack during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on August 31, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

A.J. Epenesa

There is no question that most know who A.J. Epenesa is as he was the Buffalo Bills first draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The team had traded away their first round pick in the Stefon Diggs but were fortunate enough to have Epenesa fall to them in the second.

The reason that he is on this list is because right now there isn’t really a clear path to playing time for Epenesa, especially his rookie season. The depth chart at defensive end is very veteran, top heavy with Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Trent Murphy at the top and these three would likely command a majority of the snaps if the coaching staff follows a similar rotation from a season ago.

However, Epenesa could end up taking a similar path that Devin Singletary took a season ago. The running back position was similar in that it was veteran led with McCoy and Gore and the rookie didn’t have a clear path to playing time.

If Epenesa has a strong camp, it wouldn’t be that surprising if the Buffalo Bills elect to release Trent Murphy, to not only save salary cap but get Epenesa more snaps this coming season.

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