A.J. Epenesa is a career quality starter — a pass rusher whose body of work places Epenesa in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Epenesa's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

DEPHIACT

A.J. Epenesa

Top 20% all-time pass rushersIron Man

Height6'6"

Weight260 lb

BornSep 15, 1998

Age27

CollegeIowa See College Stats

ConferenceBig Ten

Rookie yr2020

Draft2020 · Rd 2, Pick 54 · BUF

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end edge rusher defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 76 · #1484 · Above Average

Worth 76 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher — top 33% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +15.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

5 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+15.2

Avg surplus

peak +29

5 seasons × ~15.2 surplus ≈ VORP 76

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2020	—	BUF	10	—	12	9	3	3	4	1.0	8.0	0	1	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	291	30.5%	79	27.1%	1	1	1.0	95.8	7.0	7	3	3	1	0	0.0
2021	—	BUF	14	—	14	8	6	2	9	1.5	12.5	0	1	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	330	36.9%	144	40.8%	0	0	—	—	—	14	5	7	1	4	0.2
2022	—	BUF	10	—	15	12	3	7	10	6.5	23.5	0	5	2	1	0	0	—	0.0%	375	37.6%	43	13.4%	2	2	1.0	116.7	3.0	14	3	4	1	3	0.2
2023	—	BUF	14	—	20	9	11	7	10	6.5	23.5	2	8	1	1	1	0	—	0.0%	387	40.6%	26	15.0%	3	2	0.7	52.8	6.3	14	4	3	1	4	0.2
2024	—	BUF	16	—	36	20	16	8	11	6.0	25.0	0	2	2	—	0	1	—	0.0%	612	55.1%	63	15.5%	4	2	0.5	58.3	-3.8	16	6	4	0	2	0.0
2025	—	BUF	15	—	32	17	15	2	9	2.5	13.5	2	4	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	438	47.4%	85	29.4%	4	2	0.5	16.7	0.3	12	3	6	0	3	0.1
Career		—	79	—	129	75	54	29	53	24.0	106.0	4	21	5	3	1	1	—	0.0%	2,433	41.4%	440	23.5%	14	9	—	—	—	77	24	27	4	16	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
2020	22	BUF	10	0*	12	9	3	3	4	1.0	8.0	0	1	0	—	0	0	5.1
2021	23	BUF	14	0*	14	8	6	2	9	1.5	12.5	0	1	0	—	0	0	6.7
2022	24	BUF	10	0*	15	12	3	7	10	6.5	23.5	0	5	2	1	0	0	10.8
2023	25	BUF	14	0*	20	9	11	7	10	6.5	23.5	2	8	1	1	1	0	12.3
2024	26	BUF	16	9*	36	20	16	8	11	6.0	25.0	0	2	2	—	0	1	13.5
2025	27	BUF	15	0*	32	17	15	2	9	2.5	13.5	2	4	0	1	0	0	8
Career			79	9*	129	75	54	29	53	—	—	4	21	5	3	1	1	56.4

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2020	22	BUF	14	0*	—	0.0%	291	30.5%	79	27.1%
2021	23	BUF	14	0*	—	0.0%	330	36.9%	144	40.8%
2022	24	BUF	15	0*	—	0.0%	375	37.6%	43	13.4%
2023	25	BUF	15	0*	—	0.0%	387	40.6%	26	15.0%
2024	26	BUF	17	9*	—	0.0%	612	55.1%	63	15.5%
2025	27	BUF	16	0*	—	0.0%	438	47.4%	85	29.4%
Career			91	9*	—	—	2,433	—	440	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2020	22	BUF	14	0*	1	1	1.0	95.8	7.0	7	3	3	1	0	0.0
2021	23	BUF	14	0*	0	0	—	—	—	14	5	7	1	4	0.2
2022	24	BUF	15	0*	2	2	1.0	116.7	3.0	14	3	4	1	3	0.2
2023	25	BUF	15	0*	3	2	0.7	52.8	6.3	14	4	3	1	4	0.2
2024	26	BUF	17	9*	4	2	0.5	58.3	-3.8	16	6	4	0	2	0.0
2025	27	BUF	16	0*	4	2	0.5	16.7	0.3	12	3	6	0	3	0.1
Career			91	9*	14	9	—	—	—	77	24	27	4	16	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 64 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 64 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 6 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 64.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 64· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 63

On-field 47

Availability 16

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)

2020bestavg 63elite 702025

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 12% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

12% of the all-time Sacks leader12

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 92%.

Per-Snap Impact

Edge Rushers · proprietary · 2012+

Above average

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:5.59See leaderboard →

Disruption/1005.59Snap share41.4%Def snaps2,433ReliableCV 0.39

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within edge rushers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2020

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

EDGE · 2020 class

5.04s

40-Yard

Low · 9th pct

Pos 9thAll 19thClass Pos 18thClass All 19th

32.5"

Vertical

Below avg · 39th pct

Pos 39thAll 39thClass Pos 54thClass All 35th

117"

Broad Jump

Above avg · 55th pct

Pos 55thAll 50thClass Pos 38thClass All 35th

17 reps

Bench

Low · 6th pct

Pos 6thAll 27thClass Pos 15thClass All 28th

7.34s

3-Cone

Below avg · 35th pct

Pos 35thAll 34thClass Pos 61thClass All 40th

4.46s

Shuttle

Below avg · 32th pct

Pos 32thAll 33thClass Pos 38thClass All 41th

Postseason Career

13 playoff games

Defense

Tkl14Solo7Ast7TFL3QBHits3Dis6.0PD5

College Stats

IowaImported college table

College Defense

Season	School	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
2017	IOWA	15	8	—	—	—	4.5	4.5	—	—	1	0	—	—
2018	IOWA	37	21	—	—	—	10.5	10.5	—	—	4	1	—	—
2019	IOWA	49	32	—	—	—	11.5	11.5	—	—	4	0	—	—
Career		101	61	—	—	—	26.5	26.5	0	0	9	1	—	—

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

2020 Draft Class· this player went #54

#46KJ HamlerWR #47Marlon DavidsonDE #48Darrell TaylorDE #49Chase ClaypoolWR #50Jaylon JohnsonCB #51Trevon DiggsCB #52Cam AkersRB #53Jalen HurtsQB #55J.K. DobbinsRB #56Raekwon DavisDT #57Van JeffersonWR #58Ezra ClevelandG #59Denzel MimsWR #60Joshua UcheLB #61Kristian FultonCB #62AJ DillonRB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

A.J. inherited the Buffalo Bills DL room from Quinton Jefferson (2020–2024), and handed it to DaQuan Jones (2022–2025).

Bruce Smith 1985–1999Mike Lodish 1990–1994Phil Hansen 1991–2001Ted Washington 1995–2000Gabe Northern 1996–1999Shawn Price

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2025final season
Last recorded season with BUF
2020draft
Drafted by BUF — Round 2, Pick 54

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'6" / 260 lb

Frame

275 lb at 5.04s

Size-speed

32.5" vert / 117" broad

Explosion

17 reps

Bench power

Injury History

1 career game missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2023	BUF	1	W15Out· RibW16Questionable· RibW17Questionable· Rib
2022	BUF	0	W12Doubtful· Ankle
2021	BUF	0	W5Questionable· FootW15Questionable· Ankle

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 6-season peers. See all →

peak 66

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

C2020

C+2021

A2022

B+2023

B+2024

C+2025

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.

90%

Era Translator

Sacks translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Sacks	Sacks/G	→ 2025 Sacks	→ 2025 /G
2020	1	0.1	2+1	0.1
2021	1.5	0.1	2+0.5	0.1
2022	6.5	0.7	11+4.5	0.7
2023	6.5	0.5	8+1.5	0.5
2024	6	0.4	6	0.4
2025	2.5	0.2	3+0.5	0.2

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

76 career value over replacement — #1484 all-time of 4,642. 12.7/season above a replacement-level EDGE.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #54 (Rd 2) · BUF · 2020 · +16 vs expected KV-H

64actual

48 expected · Δ+16

Fan Rating

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A.J. Epenesa

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2020

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

College Defense

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2020 Draft Class· this player went #54

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography