Usage / Role
100%
Featured defensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2017-2019Iowa
A.J. Epenesa
DE • 6'6" • 280 lbs • Glen Carbon, IL, USA
Ball-hunting defenderSplash play profile
A.J. Epenesa shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 41.6 disruption score.
Impact Production
100
Top-tier box-score impact for an edge defender
lowelite
Reliability
100
Regular contributor with several takeover games
lowhigh
Star Power
96
Blue-chip, NFL-level ceiling
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2018 Postseason · Iowa
1718181919
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 3
- Program Path
- Iowa
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Nebraska
Player Story
A.J. Epenesa built his college career from 2017 through 2019 as a defensive end from Glen Carbon, IL wearing No. 94, spending time with Iowa. The clearest part of A.J. Epenesa's career was his defensive production:...
Read the story5★
- Committed To
- Iowa
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2017
NFL Draft
- Draft Year
- 2020
- Selection
- Round 2 · Pick 22
- Overall
- No. 54
- NFL Team
- Buffalo Bills
A.J. Epenesa, DE. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2018 Postseason · Iowa. A.J. Epenesa shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 41.6 disruption score.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Tackles
- 101
- TFL
- 37
- Sacks
- 26.5
- QB hurries
- 25
- Passes defended
- 8
- Touchdowns
- 1
Quick Answers
A.J. Epenesa quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Iowa · DE
- Career Tackles
- 101
- Tracked sample
- 3 unique seasons · 5 entries · 37 games
- Best season
- 2018 Postseason · Iowa
- Top game
- Nebraska
- Recruit profile
- 5-star · Edwardsville · Iowa
- High school pipeline
- Edwardsville · 10 FBS recruits · 2 drafted players
- NFL Draft
- 2020 · Round 2 · Pick 22 · Buffalo Bills
- Latest roster
- No. 94 · Junior
- 2019 Tackles rank
- 49 tackles · DE 19th (top 7%) · Big Ten 71st (top 12%) · National 688th (top 12%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hur | PD | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Regular Season | Iowa | 11 | 15 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 49 |
| 2018 Postseason | Iowa | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 0 | 76 |
| 2018 Regular Season | Iowa | 13 | 35 | 15.5 | 9.5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 76 |
| 2019 Postseason | Iowa | 13 | 4 | 1.5 | 2.5 | - | - | 0 | 71 |
| 2019 Regular Season | Iowa | 13 | 45 | 13.5 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 71 |
Related Context
Keep exploring A.J. Epenesa
A.J. Epenesa played DE for Iowa. Across 3 tracked seasons, A.J. Epenesa recorded 15 receiving yards, 101 tackles, and 1 touchdowns. His top tracked season came in 2019 with Iowa.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2018 Postseason
Iowa paired 39 primary output with 40.3 efficiency.
Supporting note
2018 Postseason role shape
impact-led usage with 40.3 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value stayed steady
2019 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Illinois
Win with 7 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2018 Postseason · Iowa
Games
13
Havoc Plays / G
3
Efficiency
40.3
Usage
15.8
Consistency
63.7
Best Game by takeover score
Illinois
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Active game
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Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Mississippi State: 3. Northern Illinois: 4. Iowa State: 5. Northern Iowa: 3. Wisconsin: 1. Minnesota: 0. Indiana: 2. Maryland: 4. Penn State: 2. Purdue: 2. Northwestern: 1. Illinois: 7. Nebraska: 5
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Low volumeHigh quality
High volumeHigh quality
Low volumeLower quality
High volumeLower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Mississippi State: 2 by 38.3. Northern Illinois: 4 by 56.7. Iowa State: 5 by 70.8. Northern Iowa: 3 by 42.5. Wisconsin: 1 by 14.2. Minnesota: 1 by 4.2. Indiana: 2 by 28.3. Maryland: 3 by 52.5. Penn State: 1 by 24.2. Purdue: 2 by 28.3. Northwestern: 3 by 22.5. Illinois: 8 by 83.3. Nebraska: 2 by 58.3
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins3.7 · Games = 9 · +2.2 vs Losses
Losses1.5 · Games = 4 · -2.2 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
13 games
Featured metric
Havoc Plays
Top game by takeover score
Illinois
Best efficiency game
83.3 vs Illinois
| Result | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1/1 | vs Mississippi StateSplash game | W 27-22 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Fri 11/23 | vs NebraskaSplash game | W 31-28 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Sat 11/17 | @ IllinoisSplash game | W 63-0 | 8 | 5 | — | 3.50 | 1.50 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Sat 11/10 | vs Northwestern | L 10-14 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 11/3 | @ PurdueSplash game | L 36-38 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/27 | @ Penn StateSplash game | L 24-30 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/20 | vs MarylandSplash game | W 23-0 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/13 | @ IndianaSplash game | W 42-16 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/6 | @ Minnesota | W 48-31 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sun 9/23 | vs Wisconsin | L 17-28 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/15 | vs Northern IowaSplash game | W 38-14 | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/8 | vs Iowa State2+ sacks · Splash game | W 13-3 | 5 | 3 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Sat 9/1 | vs Northern IllinoisSplash game | W 33-7 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
Player Story
A.J. Epenesa story
A.J. Epenesa built his college career from 2017 through 2019 as a defensive end from Glen Carbon, IL wearing No. 94, spending time with Iowa. The clearest part of A.J. Epenesa's career was his defensive production: 101 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 26.5 sacks, and 8 passes defended across 37 career games in the available record. His largest box-score season came in 2019 with Iowa. Those numbers show where he fit, how often the ball or action found him, and how his role developed over time.
Defensive careers can be hard to read from one number, but A.J. Epenesa's production has multiple signals. His career also includes 15 receiving yards and 16 return yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. With 37 career games in the available record, his career has enough shape to show both opportunity and production across Iowa.
The arc is straightforward: A.J. Epenesa moved through the depth chart, found a larger role, and turned that opportunity into production that can be understood through standard football numbers.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Iowa
2017-2019
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
20172018201820192019
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Regular Season | Iowa | 19 | 23 | 7.9 | — |
| 2018 Postseason | Iowa | 39 | 40.3 | 15.8 | 20 |
| 2018 Regular Season | Iowa | 39 | 40.3 | 15.8 | 0 |
| 2019 Postseason | Iowa | 38.5 | 41.6 | 15.8 | -0.5 |
| 2019 Regular Season | Iowa | 38.5 | 41.6 | 15.8 | 0 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
@ Nebraska
Week 14 · W 27-24 · Conference game
Win with backfield disruption leading the way.
7
Havoc Plays
100 takeover
7 disruption/tackle impact with 100 takeover score.
#2
@ Illinois
Week 12 · W 63-0 · Conference game
7
Havoc Plays
94.4 takeover
Win with 7 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
7 disruption/tackle impact with 94.4 takeover score.
#3
vs Penn State
Week 4 · L 19-21 · Conference game
5
Havoc Plays
84.7 takeover
Loss with 5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
5 disruption/tackle impact with 84.7 takeover score.
#4
vs Minnesota
Week 12 · W 23-19 · Conference game
6
Havoc Plays
84.1 takeover
Win with backfield disruption leading the way.
6 disruption/tackle impact with 84.1 takeover score.
#5
vs Penn State
Week 7 · L 12-17 · Conference game
5
Havoc Plays
83.5 takeover
Loss with 5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
5 disruption/tackle impact with 83.5 takeover score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2018 Postseason · Iowa
39 primary output · 40.3 efficiency · 15.8 usage
76
#2
2018 Regular Season · Iowa
76
39 primary · 40.3 efficiency · 15.8 usage
#3
2019 Postseason · Iowa
71
38.5 primary · 41.6 efficiency · 15.8 usage
Milestones
14
Impact games
23
Splash games
1
10+ tackle games
Next best actions
Keep exploring A.J. Epenesa
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