Bills DE dominate grip strength competition at Von Miller’s Sack Summit

Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller held his annual sack summit in Las Vegas this past weekend, a multi-day event that brought together some of the NFL’s top pass rushers at the University of Nevada’s Fertitta Football Complex in Las Vegas. Several of Miller’s Buffalo teammates attended the summit, some of whom even took part in a grip strength competition that took place in Sin City.

The friendly, yet heated, competition saw NFL defenders test their grip strength using a grip meter. Some of the league’s most feared pass rushers, including Josh Allen, Cameron Jordan and Matthew Judon, took part in the competition, but it was a nationally underrated Bills defensive end who emerged victorious.

Buffalo defensive end AJ Epenesa recorded the highest grip strength among the competing players, generating 203 pounds of force. The next highest score came from Detroit Lions defensive end Marcus Davenport, who produced 196 pounds of tension.

You can watch the full clip below:

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Other Bills who competed in the competition included DaQuan Jones (who generated 186 pounds of force), Javon Solomon (185), Kingsley Jonathan (175), the aforementioned Von Miller (152), DeWayne Carter (138), Branson Deen (120) and David Ugwoegbu (112).

A second-round pick by Buffalo in the 2020 NFL Draft, Epenesa has had a largely unremarkable professional career. Considered a power rusher out of Iowa, Bills management initially asked him to fundamentally change his game, which included losing significant weight and becoming a more speed-oriented player. The transition took several years, but he has become a complete pass rusher who shows flashes of both strength and speed; he is coming off back-to-back seasons with 6.5 sacks, prompting Buffalo to sign him to a two-year extension in the 2024 offseason.

Epenesa, so far, has just four career starts under his belt, but that number could increase significantly during the 2024 NFL season; if Miller is unable to rebound from an incredibly disappointing 2023 campaign, Epenesa could step into a starting role given the offseason departure of team sack leader Leonard Floyd.

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