Ravens Rookie DT Dispels Size Concerns

For as much as Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles had going for him - good speed, a relentless motor and a first-team All-ACC selection in 2024 - one thing held his draft stock back: his size, or more accurately, his lack thereof.

At 6-foot and 282 pounds, Peebles is still a very large man, but will look comparatively small next to the NFL offensive lineman he'll match up against. When the Ravens lost Michael Pierce, a massive defensive tackle at 355 pounds, to retirement this offseason, most imagined they'd look for another big-bodied lineman to replace him, not a smaller one like Peebles.

From Peebles' perspective, though, his smaller size is not what defines him.

“I didn’t know I was undersized until I guess the NFL Draft process,” Peebles said on "Glenn Clark Radio." “I really never thought about it until I guess this whole draft process started. I just always felt at home being on the football field. I never felt like I was too small to play the game. I still don’t think that way now because there are no rulers and there are no measuring sticks on that football field. It’s just pads and what you’ve got between your [ears].”

In 12 games during his lone season at Virginia Tech, Peebles recorded 31 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Not jaw-dropping numbers, but again, his relentless work ethic is what really sets him apart.

Peebles fell a bit further than expected in the draft, landing with the Ravens at No. 210 in the sixth round. That may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as the Ravens have a history of turning late-round defensive linemen into impact players. Pierce went undrafted in 2016, while Broderick Washington was selected in the fifth round in 2020, and both players were impact players throughout their time in Baltimore.

“With Baltimore’s history of the lower-round picks and what they’ve done with undrafted guys, it just really speaks to Eric DeCosta and that whole program and the Baltimore Ravens’ whole culture,” Peebles said. “They just know what they’re doing. They’re not just making picks just to make picks. They have a plan for their guys. I’m just thankful to be a part of a program that I think has a plan for me.”