Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-round 2020 NFL mock draft: Stud DL and more

Despite a slow start to his season, Iowa defensive end A.J Epenesa finished the 2019 CFB season on a high note. Starting in 13 games this season, Epenesa racked up 49 total tackles, 14 TFLs and 11.5 quarterback sacks, with seven of those sacks coming in his last four games. With another year of great production, Epenesa earned himself first-team All-Big Ten honors for a second consecutive year. He has cemented himself as a top prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft should he choose to declare.

Epenesa offers a great combination of size and power in his game that makes him hard to handle for opposing offensive lines. Showing amazing burst for his size, Epenesa can be seen making big plays vs the run and against the pass. While he does tend to bull/power rush opposing tackles, Epenesa shows prowess at using various techniques such as chops. Additionally, he shows some bend on film despite his large size, which is something that really surprised me.

Where I see him fitting in with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is at 5-tech in Todd Bowles’ 3-4 defensive scheme. Standing at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, Epenesa is big enough to play on the edge but also kick inside and rush from the middle. This sort of versatility offers the Tampa Buccaneers a lot upfront, allowing for a pass rush to come from multiple places.

With Epenesa playing in the trenches, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are suddenly big upfront with Vita Vea playing in the middle as well.