Virginia Tech Hokies defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles (16) celebrates after a sack during the second quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Lane Stadium. Peter Casey-Imagn Images.

Aeneas Peebles 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Virginia Tech Hokies DT

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Kyle Crabbs | Last updated Mar 25, 2025 11:31 AM ET

Height: 6004 (verified)

Weight: 282lbs (verified)

Year: Redshirt Senior

Pro Comparison: Discount Calijah Kancey

Scouting Overview

Virginia Tech Hokies defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles is the pocket-sized pass rusher your team needs in the 2025 NFL Draft. Peebles plays with an electric amount of energy and a vast array of pass-rush maneuvers that help him project as a developmental value prospect despite his lack of mass and power to play in the interior.

This high-energy talent is a role-specific player early on in his NFL career but should be someone who can breathe life into the depth of your defensive interior on passing downs. His challenge will be filling out the early down resume to become a potential starter.

2025 NFL Combine Results

Position	Name	School	40-Yard Dash	10-Yard Split	Broad Jump	Vertical Jump	3-Cone Drill	20-Yard Shuttle	Bench Press
DT	Aeneas Peebles	Virginia Tech	4.94	1.74	109	32.5		4.7

Positives

Might be the hottest motor of any defensive lineman I studied this cycle
Good first-step quickness and very good short-area agility allow him to shoot gaps or crash and cross face to win reps early
Offers a variety of pass-rush counters that can force blockers to come up empty-handed on their punch

Negatives

Dramatically undersized and will struggle to hold up against heavy-handed punchers
Ability to live on early downs is compounded by a lack of anchor and his sub-31.5-inch arms
Niche role cuts down on snap opportunities and will hurt his valuation

Background

Peebles is from Raleigh, NC, and played high school football for Knightdale HS. He comes from a family bloodline of football players — his grandfather, Doug, was a top-20 draft selection by the Houston Oilers in 1970, and his father, William, was an All-American at App State.

Aeneas, at Knightdale, was a standout defensive lineman and earned a 3-star recruiting ranking (247 Sports). Peebles elected to enroll at Duke as a member of their 2020 recruiting class; he bypassed offers from App State, Central Michigan, James Madison, and more in favor of the Blue Devils.

Peebles played in 10 games as a true freshman in 2020 but retained his four seasons of eligibility, thanks to the pandemic. In 2021, Peebles collected his first career start with 12 total games played and then played in another 13 games as a part of the rotation in 2022. His career with Duke peaked in 2023 — as Peebles was named Third Team All-ACC and started every game of the regular season.

He would go on to enter the transfer portal ahead of Duke’s bowl game and eventually landed with Virginia Tech. His lone season with the Hokies was his best. He was named Third Team All-American, First Team All-ACC, and started all 12 games for the Hokies.

Peebles finished his college career with an acceptance to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Tale Of The Tape

Peebles is a ball of lightning in the middle with a ton of creativity and fluidity in his pass-rush arsenal. The size and strength profile are major blockades for a well-rounded role on a defensive front, but if you’re simply looking for juice on long and late downs, Peebles can grab a spot in your rush rotation and bring the juice.

As a pass rusher, he showcases a good first step to burst through gaps. He’s got effective initial quickness to work hip to hip with interior blockers, and because of his low-to-the-ground frame, his pad level is compact and creates challenges for blockers to punch him squarely.

Further allowing for disruption is just how active and pronounced his rush counters are. Peebles will rip, swipe, club, swim through punches, and maximize his shoulder range of motion to pop hands free off his chest at the far reaches of his counter moves.

And, if you short-set him and try to take him square, Peebles has a potent inside spin move that has undressed multiple interior offensive linemen, leaving him punching the air as he presses to the quarterback.

Peebles is missing the ideal power element that would serve as the icing on the cake, however. Without the speed-to-power consistency and with his lack of length to punch and jolt blockers’ pads, he’s a finesse rusher who thrives on space and could struggle to work the edges of NFL offensive linemen.

In the run game, the projection here is a big one. Yes, he could feasibly play in the B-gap as a penetration player, but his lack of length puts added pressure on his ability to get cleanly through gaps undeterred early in the rep. Without a clean victory, he’s left too often stuck on bodies or unable to finish opportunities in the fringes of his tackle radius.

Peebles is missing the anchor and upper-body fundamentals to negotiate blocks at the point of attack. It serves as a black cloud over what is a super promising profile as a pass rusher. It is an area that teams must be ready to live with patiently as they try to develop him or otherwise carry a well-rounded platoon of interior defenders who can help eat the early down and short yardage snaps that he’s not ideally equipped to handle.

Threading the needle to find a starting role and high-volume workload will be a delicate balance.

Ideal Scheme Fit, Role

Peebles would be a welcomed addition as a designated pass-rush specialist on any defensive line. He’d benefit from adding more power elements to his game to become a more well-rounded rusher and give him a chance to play every down more frequently, but he’s an interior penetration threat who can help attack in base pressure or blitz-heavy schemes.

Grade: 71.00/100.00, Fifth Round Value

Big Board Rank: TBD

Position Rank: TBD

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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