After a successful collegiate career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, AJ Epenesa has proven that he is ready to take the big stage in the NFL. And it seems  Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has his plans laid out for the rookie, in a “perfect world” that is.

In an interview with former Bills center Eric Wood, the 46-year old shared his insights on Epenesa's role in his deep defensive roster.

“AJ, I think in a perfect world…We still have Trent (Murphy), we’ve got Jerry (Hughes), we brought in Mario Addison at the end position, we’ve got some young ends still as well in Darryl Johnson and Mike Love… In a perfect world, he’ll play a backup position the first season potentially to move inside on rush situations,” the Bills coach said of AJ Epenesa (h/t Syracuse.com)

“That’s asking a lot at this point because, learning as you know, learning two positions just in your first season and adjusting all the while to life in the NFL is a challenge so we’ll just focus on one position for now, but the more he can do the better for us and for his future.”

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The 54th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Epenesa is poised to take a back seat in his debut season since the Bills roster is indeed quite stacked. Addision and Hughes are expected to start for Buffalo and McDermott has a few more backup options waiting in line before he would possibly consider Epenesa.

As per the head coach, the Bills rookie has to adapt and possibly learn multiple roles to be effective given his limited minutes on the field.

McDermott wants the young defensive end to take his time and not rush into learning so much, which is perfect given that we might be expecting some delays before the 2020 NFL season begins due to COVID-19.