Buffalo Bills: Ranking impact of each player from 2020 draft class in 2021

Number 5 – A.J. Epenesa

The impact A.J. Epenesa is going to have is really going to come down to opportunity. The reason that Epenesa, who was the second round pick last year, is this high on the list is that he is unlikely to earn a starting role at defensive end this season with Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison still on the roster.

The Buffalo Bills also like to rotate their defensive linemen pretty frequently so Epenesa is a player that will likely finish the year playing around 30-40% of the defensive snaps. The question becomes how efficient he can be with that limited playing time.

The defensive end position is likely going to improve off their performance from a season ago but it will be due to a combination of all the players at the position. While Epenesa will have a hand in that, in terms of the individual impact he likely won’t have as much as other players from the 2020 NFL Draft.