AP FILE PHOTO - Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa (94) walks off the field with teammate Geno Stone (9) after a Big Ten Conference football game against Purdue on Oct. 19, 2019, in Iowa City. Epenesa was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills on Friday, while Stone was selected in the seventh round by the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A.J. Epenesa might not know much about Buffalo yet, though the Iowa defensive end is sure familiar with Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Drafted by the Bills with the 54th pick on Friday, Epenesa began to laugh when reminded how his first college career sack came against Allen three years ago when Wyoming opened its season at Iowa in a 24-3 win by the Hawkeyes.

“Yeah, it’s not going to be an awkward thing,” Epenesa said, referring to his eventual re-introduction with the Bills third-year starter. “He’s a great guy from what I heard, and he’s a great quarterback … So, I’m really excited to be on the same team as him.”

A day after sitting out the first round of the NFL draft, the Bills addressed their defensive pass-rush and offensive rushing needs with their second- and third-round picks.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Epenesa led the Big Ten with 10 1/2 sacks as a junior last season. The Bills then used the 86th pick to choose Utah running back Zack Moss, who set numerous career school records and led the Pac-12 with 15 touchdowns and 1,416 yards rushing to earn the conference player of the year honors.

Epenesa’s selection was Buffalo’s first of the draft after the Bills traded four picks, including their first-rounder (22nd overall), to acquire receiver Stefon Diggs from Minnesota last month.

Having addressed many of Buffalo’s immediate needs in free agency and with Diggs’ addition, general manager Brandon Beane balanced his approach to the draft between selecting the best player available with an eye on need.

Epenesa being available at No. 54 made Beane’s decision an easy one after the player was initially projected to be a late first-round or early second-round pick.

“I don’t know exactly why he fell. I assume he fell because of his 40 time and some people knocked him a little bit on that,” Beane said, referring to Epenesa being timed a a relatively slow 5.04 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL’s scouting combine. “But you know how I don’t care about that stuff. I’m looking for football players. And he’s a damn good football player.”

Epenesa was a three-year starter at Iowa who had 26 1/2 sacks and forced nine fumbles in 37 career games. He joins a Bills defense that lost backup defensive end Shaq Lawson in free agency last month. The Bills did address Lawson’s departure by signing Mario Addison in free agency.

Broncos select Ojemudia

John Elway delivered on his pledge to give Drew Lock more weapons and better protection in an NFL draft teeming with wide receivers and offensive linemen, but the Denver Broncos’ general manager didn’t neglect his defense, either.

On Friday night, the Broncos selected Iowa cornerback Michael Ojemudia and Arkansas defensive tackle McTelvin Agim in the third round.

Ojemudia will help fill the void left by the departure of Chris Harris Jr. to the Chargers this offseason, and Agim solidifies a refurbished defensive line that includes trade acquisition Jurrell Casey.

Ojemudia said facing the likes of Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, Penn State’s K.J. Hamler, SMU’s Courtland Sutton and former Hawkeye tight end Noah Fant in his first training camp will microwave his NFL education.

“I mean, that’s going to be big,” Ojemudia said. “It’s going to be harder than the games sometimes.”

Vikings nab Stanley in 7th

With the 244th pick Saturday, Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley went to the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round. In that slot, Stanley is looking at a $2.7 million, four-year deal with a $77,500 signing bonus.

Coincidentally, Stanley’s hometown is just an hour and nine minutes from Minneapolis.

Iowa was 27-12 in Stanley’s three seasons as starting quarterback. The 6-foot-4, 243-pounder passed for 2,951 yards with 16 touchdowns in 2019. He ranks second in career passing touchdowns (68), career passing yards (8,302), career completions (673) and career pass attempts (1,155), and third in career total offense (8,198).

Stanley also was a three-time team captain for the Hawkeyes.

“He can make every throw on the field,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on the draft telecast. “He’s got a big, strong, powerful arm.”

Baltimore selects Stone

So, Geno Stone had to wait to hear his name picked in the NFL Draft. It got into the seventh round Saturday before the Hawkeye safety heard his name.

The Baltimore Ravens picked the 5-foot-10, 210-pound safety with the 219th pick.

So yes, Stone had to wait until the seventh round. And that’s OK, he’s had plenty of practice brushing off doubt.

Part of the highlight package the draft telecast played for Stone was his pick-6 at Penn State in 2018. Of course, the “Penn State passed on Stone” storyline made an appearance.

So yeah, seventh round. Stone is used to coming in low and leaving on a high.

At the combine in February, Stone talked about the Iowa coach who helped him and a lot of Hawkeyes defensive backs into the draft, defensive coordinator/secondary coach Phil Parker.

“As a defensive back, coach Parker really gets all the underappreciated defensive backs and turns them into some gems,” Stone said. “You look at from anyone from Bob Sanders all the way up to Amani Hooker from last year. There you saw guys people really never thought about in the recruiting process and coach Parker took them.”

Undrafted free agents

A pair of Hawkeyes were reported to have signed free agent contracts after the draft in tight end Nate Wieting (Cleveland Browns) and linebacker Kristian Welch (Baltimore Ravens).