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Bills' unexpected breakout player is taking the league by storm, despite what his box score might say after just five weeks

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Adam Zientek | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 5:15 PM ET

The Buffalo Bills have plenty of superstars on the roster on both the offense and defense. Now, we can't just go throwing around the word superstar for everyone, but Buffalo does have a handful of true difference-makers on both sides of the football.

One breakout player is being linked to a whole bunch of superstars across the league, and his advanced metrics through the early stages of the NFL season further prove that Buffalo has yet another gamebreaker on the defensive side of the football.

That man is none other than defensive end A.J. Epenesa.

Through five games, Epenesa's stat line looks modest at best with 1.5 sacks, 14 total pressures, three tackles, and a pass deflection. But those box-score numbers don't tell the full story of how disruptive he's actually been.

Not exactly superstar-level status, but it's when you take a look under the hood that Epenesa's greatness really shines.

AJ Epenesa is playing good football to start the 2025 campaign.

2nd PRP (Pass Rush Productivity) in the NFL among DL with 20%. pic.twitter.com/xisJinNvrt
— Aaron Quinn (@AaronQuinn716) October 6, 2025

Epenesa has been playing on another level in 2025

A better indicator of real impact is "pass-rush productivity," which is a metric that weighs a defender's sacks, hits, and hurries against their total rush opportunities.

Among edge rushers with at least 20 percent of their snaps spent rushing the passer, Epenesa ranks second in the league, only behind Denver's Nik Bonitto . The names right behind him? Will Anderson Jr., Micah Parsons, and Aidan Hutchinson.

If he keeps it up, the sacks are going to come. The team is focused on the process, doing everything right, and the result will follow, something head coach Sean McDermott has long expressed.

According to Sports Illustrated, Epenesa ranks seventh in overall pressure rate among all qualified rushers. When removing blitz situations, his 29 percent pressure rate jumps him up to third in the entire NFL, elite company by any standard.

Ummm so this is interesting. NGS has AJ Epenesa with a 28.6% pressure rate, excluding plays where the QB was blitzed. That's good for 3rd in the NFL.

I'm not sure what this is about, but I'm going to look into it. pic.twitter.com/YRNuusOuzf
— Adam (@adampensel) October 7, 2025

If the early numbers are any indication, the breakout everyone's been waiting for might already be here. Epenesa's rise could be a huge boost for Buffalo's defensive identity moving forward.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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