Dolphins’ LT Jackson vs. Bills’ DE Epenesa is going to be a thing. And Jackson must do better
Almost everybody was smiling in the Buffalo Bills’ suite at the Indianapolis Combine in February during their interview with Iowa edge rusher A.J. Epenesa.
Epenesa was narrating for head coach Sean McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and others from the coaching staff and personnel department what he was thinking on a particular strip sack during the 2019 season.
And on that play, Epenesa beat a 1-on-1 block from an opposing left tackle and slapped back the cocked throwing arm of the quarterback, causing him to fumble and actually injuring him and forcing him out of the game.
The club representatives wanted the player to describe what he was doing and thinking at the time. And Epenesa said he picked up the move from watching Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller do it in a Super Bowl a few years ago against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
Both McDermott and Beane were with those Super Bowl-losing Panthers back then and that game was obviously a great disappointment for both. And Frazier, knowing this, made the point both men remember that Miller play quite well.
Some in the room chuckled.
So on this job interview, A.J. Epenesa brought up perhaps one of the more painful memories in his potential employers’ careers.
Yeah, awkward
And why are you reading this Buffalo Bills stuff in your Miami Dolphins space? Well, obviously, there’s a Dolphins angle, folks.
The game Epenesa was reliving for the Bills’ staff was the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl. In that game, Iowa played USC and beat the Trojans 49-24.
In that game, the Iowa edge rusher matched up against USC left tackle Austin Jackson 1-on-1.
And Epenesa had four tackles, including 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble against Jackson. And, yes, Epenesa knocked USC quarterback Kedon Slovis from the game.
The description of the matchup was not kind to Jackson.
And if you fast-foward to the draft in April, that awkward moment between Epenesa and the Bills now extends to the Dolphins. Because the Bills drafted Epenesa in the second round, with the No. 54 overall selection. And the Dolphins drafted Jackson in the first round, with the No. 18 overall selection.
So if the plans concocted by the Dolphins and Bills manifest we will see Jackson versus Epenesa twice per season for years to come.
And right now you have to figure Jackson has much work to do to keep from having a game like he had last time he looked across the line of scrimmage at Epenesa. And he has much work to do before he can be trusted to keep either Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tua Tagovailoa from leaving a game with an injury sustained when he got beat on a block.
Forget that ... Jackson has a long way to go before he can actually win a starting job for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are weak at left tackle, which obviously is the reason they drafted Jackson. But the idea they’re so weak they will rush Jackson to the front lines to battle bigger, stronger, faster pass rushers than he faced in college is probably not correct.
At least one hopes not.
When the team eventually opens training camp, the Dolphins are expected to have Julie’n Davenport as their first-team left tackle — which is where he was the final seven games of the ‘19 season. This is a product of experience and other factors.
Jackson, meanwhile, will have to hone his abilities as a backup — at least at first.
The Dolphins obviously have high hopes for Jackson because left tackle is a cornerstone position on any football team, and their first-round investment in him is sizable. But in the one time coach Brian Flores discussed Jackson, the conversation was more about the player needing time and work than just an opportunity to walk through the doors and shine.
“I think at the end of the day, we want to bring good players onto this team who will work and compete,” Flores said when asked about Jackson. “To talk about starting positions, I mean these guys have never been in an NFL locker room.”
That’s a sound approach. Because to go back and watch Jackson’s tape of his junior season (he declared early) presents some questions. He had two notable 2019 games in which his performance was, well, not good.
The troubling thing about that is those came in two of the three times he played against rushers with NFL futures — against Utah’s Bradlee Anae (one sack, two tackles for loss) and Epenesa. Jackson also played against Notre Dame’s Julian Okwara but only gave up one QB hurry in that matchup.
The good news is Jackson has not just been sitting around since those games. He worked to gain strength and improve his core in the lead-up to the draft. And he has continued to work out after the draft, although the inability of rookies (or any players) to get into training facilities and join their teams’ strength and conditioning program has not helped.
“Definitely, I think there’s a lot more room to grow,” Jackson said. “I feel like since I’ve made the decision to leave and train for the NFL, my strength and athleticism has just gone up 10 times what it was, and I feel like getting around an NFL locker room with NFL guys, I feel like there’s just more knowledge to learn the game.
“I think the ceiling is incredibly high, and I think I can get as much as I put into it, which will be a lot.”
Good. Because Jackson has to reach for that ceiling in the coming years when he faces Epenesa in rematch after rematch.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 1:30 PM.
