Day 3 Pick Could Make Huge Impact for Ravens

Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, there was an expectation that the Baltimore Ravens would address the defensive line relatively early on. Their interior defensive line grew concerningly thin with Michael Pierce retiring and Brent Urban remaining a free agent, so it seemed like a reasonable assumption that they would address the position in some way, shape or form.

So, it came as a surprise that they waited until the sixth round to address the position, but they may have landed themselves a steal.

Defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles, who the Ravens selected out of Virginia Tech at No. 210 overall, is a relentless lineman who, while undersized, could become an impact player up front. In fact, Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick believes he's one of the Day 3 picks most likely to make an impact

"Peebles fell to the sixth round of the draft because he measures in at only 6-foot-1 and 289 pounds with 31.5-inch arms," Chadwick wrote. "However, he can carve out a role on Baltimore’s defensive line as a designated pass rusher and be very effective. His 92.2 PFF pass-rush grade and 18.9% pass-rush win rate over the past two seasons were easily the best marks of any FBS defensive tackle in that span."

A Raleigh, N.C., native, Peebles earned a first-team All-ACC selection in his lone season at Virginia Tech after recording 31 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Before that, he spent four years at Duke and steadily improved each year, even leading the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in 2023.

Peebles will have to prove himself throughout the rest of the offseason to earn meaningful snaps, but if he displays the same work ethic that got him here in the first place, he should be in good shape.