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AJ Epenesa and the Bears – A Match Made in Heaven?

  • February 15, 2024


The Bears have needs at multiple positions and cap space to fill them. If there’s one defensive position where the Bears will likely spend big to improve, it’s EDGE2. There are some big-ticket options in free agency, these include:

* Josh Allen, Jaguars
* Intriguing situation to monitor. Somewhat similar to Jaylon Johnson: The player has indicated that he would prefer to sign a big extension but the two parties appear to be far apart in negotiations.
* Danielle Hunter, Vikings
* This seems to be the hot mock to the Bears at the moment. With Cousins likely returning and Darrisaw/Jefferson extensions on the horizon, Hunter may have priced himself out of a return to Minnesota.
* Brian Burns, Panthers
* While he’s in a similar situation to Allen’s in many ways, he’s an additional year removed from his career year in 2022. There have also been talks that Carolina plans to tag-and-trade him to which I say no thanks. Still, he fits the bill as a young and productive pass rusher when he’s on the field.

I wouldn’t be mad if the Bears were able to sign one of these players, but if the Bears want to take a chance on a young, productive player who they can get without breaking the bank- the best option is AJ Epenesa:

**Position: 4-3** Defensive End

6-6, 260lb

Age: 25-153d

**2023 Stats: 15 G, 6.5 Sacks, 20 Tkl, 7 TFL, 10 QB Hits, 14 Pressures**

There are a few things about Epenesa that have him bookmarked as my perfect value fit for the Bears EDGE2 in free agency:

* Youth: He’d be the youngest option of any player mentioned so far. He’ll turn 26 next season, so he should be in his prime for the duration of his next contract.
* Familiarity: Eric Washington, the Bears’ new DC, has been Epenesa’s defensive line coach for all 4 years of his NFL career.
* Price: While the man probably knows his worth and will ask for a respectable contract, he should be much cheaper than the other young edge rushers on the market.
* Opportunity: This is what I find most interesting about Epenesa. While his stats don’t jump off the box score, he has spent his career coming off the bench as a rotational player. This past season, he had 1 start and 387 snaps. That’s barely 40% of the Bills’ defensive snaps. For reference, Brian Burns played 814 snaps (83% of Panthers’ defensive snaps), well over double Epenesa’s snaps with only 1.5 more sacks. On the Bears, he would immediately become the team’s starting defensive end and second-best pass rusher. What damage could he do if given a majority of the defensive snaps opposite Sweat?
* Side note: He also had 2 picks this season, one of which was a pick-six that I’d say only a handful of players can make on Sundays and the other was an impressive deflection into interception on Mahomes. It’s not the first thing you look at when evaluating an edge rusher, but the dude makes plays and it’s worth noting considering he played less than half the team’s snaps.
* Pick Six: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrhLGGiagYs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrhLGGiagYs)
* Mahomes Tip-Drill Pick: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anlJnx0bq2E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anlJnx0bq2E)

25 comments

  6. I like it. Won’t be too expensive like the other options but a good guy to line up opposite Sweat and get some good opportunities. People forget that we still have to tag/extend JJ, sign our draft picks, sign depth, and ideally sign a center and maybe a wide receiver. 70 mil goes a long way but tagging JJ and signing a top DE chunks 40 mil off of that number already.

  8. I’m kind of hoping we swing for the fences and take Latu at 9. I think the majority of edge rushers are overrated in this league because they only contribute on about 5-10 snaps a game with some form of pressure or hopefully a single sack. Now some guys are worth every penny, and absolute game wreckers. But I think a HUGE portion of guys get 0-1 sack a game and are worthless for 50 snaps a night. This is why Sweat is good to me… he contributes a ton, not just a few snaps a game. I personally want nothing to do with Josh Allen, definitely not for that money.

  11. He is almost perfect except his RAS isn’t elite (I don’t have a problem with that, but we know Poles loves that shit.) 

    If not him I think we could kick the tires on DJ Wonnum. He had a huge year last year, has a good RAS, and played highschool ball with Montez Sweat. 

    I’m glad people are starting to look at this their of player. I’m sick of seeing everyone suggest we grab Chris Jones and Brian Burns. We have to many holes to blow our whole wad on a player or two.

  12. I have Chris Jones, Danielle Hunter, and Justin Madibuke as my top candidates. I think these guys would be true difference makers if we can get them in the building. But if not available and/or not looking for a big signing then Epenesa and Leonard Floyd are faur options for DE2.

    Josh Allen is not going anywhere and I think brian burns is a touch overrated but also doubtful to be going anywhere.

    Chris jones is on a hall of fame trajectory but I think madibuke is the most realistic here. A DT that can pass rush is a great compliment to our outside.

  15. I prefer Hunter but wpuld be good with this if the money saved goes to a center or safety assuming we get a WR at 9.. if not then add WR to the list

  18. I’d rather go after Bryce Huff, who’ll be more expensive but seems likely to sign for a sub-$20 million AAV and has put up elite pass-rushing metrics for multiple years. Epenesa could be a nice target if we need to settle for more of a budget option, though.

  20. Would make a lot of sense. He’d instantly be the 2nd best DE on the roster while not breaking the bank. Lacks upside but whatever.

  23. I’m a bears fan living in MN and I watch a ton of Vikings games. I do not think signing Hunter would be a good idea. He’s about to be 30, injury prone, and disappears for large stretches of games almost every week. He’s not a game breaker type. Would much rather have any of the other options here.

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