Story by
A.J. Epenesa sharpening new skill in his 1st Eagles training camp
- Story by
- A.J. Epenesa sharpening new skill in his 1st Eagles training camp
A.J. Epenesa sharpening new skill in his 1st Eagles training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
A.J. Epenesa spent the first six years of his NFL career playing defensive end for the Buffalo Bills .
Advertisement
So his first training camp in Philly is a bit different.
With the Eagles , Epenesa (6-6, 260) is listed as an outside linebacker in Vic Fangio's defense. And that position comes with some new responsibilities, namely dropping into coverage.
How is that going so far?
"A little awkward. A little awkward at first," Epenesa admitted this week. "But as these reps build up and I'm starting to see. Having my eyes in the right spot is huge."
While Epenesa admitted it has been a little awkward to drop, it is going well. He actually picked off a tipped pass in the second practice of training camp.
Advertisement
The 27-year-old is enjoying the challenge too.
"One hundred percent," Epenesa said. "This is definitely something new. Going into Year 7, I don't know how often many guys change systems like this, this late into their career. But it's just another challenge, another hurdle I'm confident I can overcome."
That has seemingly been going well so far.
Even after just the first practice of this training camp camp, Fangio was already praising Epenesa.
"I told A.J. this, and I told it to him in front of the whole team too," Fangio said. "For a guy that's being asked to do a few things that he's never done before, I thought he did a nice job yesterday with it. It was very encouraging."
Advertisement
The Bills initially drafted Epenesa in the second round (No. 54 overall) back in the 2020 draft out of Iowa. He was selected one spot after the Eagles took Jalen Hurts . In his first six seasons, Epenesa played in 91 games (19 starts) and had 24 total sacks, while also being stout against the run.
Earlier this offseason, Epenesa was set to join the Cleveland Browns , who then backed out of the deal after Epenesa took a physical. Epenesa on Tuesday called it a "weird situation" with the Browns.
"I don't necessarily want to go back and talk on that," Epenesa said. "I'll just leave that in the past and just be happy that I'm not a Brown and that I'm an Eagle."
Looking at the Eagles' edge rusher rotation, Jonathan Greenard is expected to be at the top, although he has missed the first six days of practice after suffering a pec strain in the lead-up to camp. After that, both Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith are fighting for a starting spot and will be big parts of the rotation. The Eagles this offseason also signed Arnold Ebiketie in free agency.
Advertisement
But as long as Epenesa continues to impress at training camp, he has a good shot to make the Eagles' roster as a part of what could end up being a pretty good rotation.
And if the Eagles want to build their edge rusher room with complementary pieces, then Epenesa could fit a role. He's the biggest edge rusher in the group and could be a good piece to help set the edge in the run game with some ability as a pass rusher.
"We said something in the meeting the other day," Epenesa said. "We're not all of the same skill but we are all of the same mind. Everyone's got different ability. Someone's taller, someone's longer, someone's a little more powerful. We all may have different things that we do well but we're all of the same mind. The mission is the same, the execution, the job is still the same."
While Epenesa wasn't asked to drop into coverage with the Bills, he does actually have 21 batted passes and four interceptions in his career. That's not too shabby.
Advertisement
And playing in this defense, he might have a chance to pick off even more passes in 2026. He has already showed that ability already in camp.
"I've always been pretty confident in my hands," Epenesa said. "I've always been confident. We work on it every day. I am working on it, but you've got to believe in them to catch it."
