Pass Rush of Bills' Future Arriving Ahead of Schedule

A.J. Epenesa had the length from the start. Now, after a year in the weight room and getting his body weight just right, the second-year Buffalo Bills defensive end has the strength.

Rookies Gregory Rousseau and Boogie Basham look ready to plug and play after being drafted in the first and second rounds, respectively as they continue to fine-tune their games.

The logjam of perimeter pass rushers in camp also includes veterans Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison and newcomer Efe Obada.

How will they all fit in what will be at least a four-man rotation on game days?

The Bills, desperate to get more pressure on the quarterback in 2021, will find a way.

For now, they're just looking forward to the enviable problem they believe they'll have when it comes to final roster cuts and some qualified players will have to be let go.

"The sky's the limit" on their pass rush this year, a rejuventated Addison insists.

It's truly entertaining listening to Mario Addison talk about Boogie Basham, Greg Rousseau, & AJ Epenesa 😂#BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/H7E34k5nBm
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) August 3, 2021

In recent days, Epenesa and Rousseau reported encouraging progress, giving the team and its fans more reasons to hope that the Bills will have a defense to match its juggernaut offense in 2021.

What's more, the young players have had more reps through the first two weeks of camp because veteran Jerry Hughes (calf) has been sidelined since the start.

After playing at around 290 pounds as a two-gapping end in Iowa's system, Epenesa dropped more than 50 pounds to get ready to play for the Bills. But it was too much, and he never was able to get up to the target weight of 260.

That won't happen this year, he vowed, after spending most of his offseason in Orchard Park, working with strength and conditioning coach Eric Ciano.

"That was really my frame of mind was just so that the coaches can see that I'm here working," Epenesa said. "It's my first offseason. A lot of the vets have got their own routines where they go to different facilities ... and they have their own training facilities. But for me, my first offseason, I wanted to be here, in person, because I knew all the gains I had to make, and being here and having the coaches see me in the weight room, seeing me gradually gaining the weight and see me putting the work in was something that I wanted Coach [Sean] McDermott, [general manager Brandon] Beane and Ciano, all of them to see firsthand that I'm here doing it in front of them."

The 2020 season was unusually difficult for NFL rookies because all offseason camps and preseason games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel definitely a little more comfortable coming in this training camp," Epenesa said. "Last year, they just kind of tossed you in and training camp lasted a couple weeks and then straight into the season. Having OTAs and rookie minicamp and all that stuff, being able to be in the building early to start those relationships early is something that I definitely missed out on. But being able to be here and see it this second year, it's something that I wish I could have had, but I'm definitely benefiting from this season so far."

Rousseau opted out of last season after a spectacular 2019 with Miami, where he led the ACC and was second in the nation with 15.5 sacks and finished with 19.5 of his 54 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

With the Bills, he is picking up new tricks by going against more experienced offensive linemen, add to his arsenal and adjusting his play accordingly.

"Of course they're more athletic than the ones from college, but also a lot smarter," Rousseau said. "Like let's say you're going to work an inside move. If you change your stance up a little bit, they're going to know that's coming and they're going to jump on you before you can get up on them.

So I feel like it's really little things. You know, you can't really give anything away, whether it's your eyes, your stance. You've got to be really intentional about everything."

Rousseau and many (though not all) of his healthy teammates are expected to play in Friday night's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions.

McDermott told Good Morning Football on Tuesday that not all starters will play against Detroit.

"We're in the midst of making those decisions right now as a staff," he said.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.