When 6-foot-2, 315-pound defensive lineman Broderick Washington left the podium to make way for rookie defensive lineman Aeneas “Fub” Peebles, the difference in size was staggering.

On days where players from the same position group speak to the media, the microphone usually doesn’t need an adjustment since the players have the same body type. But at 6 feet, 289 pounds, Peebles stands out as being both shorter and lighter than all the other interior defensive linemen.

Peebles is well aware of his stature, but it doesn’t really faze him. He said he doesn’t have a “personal chip” on his shoulder.

It also didn’t faze the Ravens, who selected Peebles out of Virginia Tech in the sixth round of last April’s draft. They decided they were OK with straying from their “prototypical Ravens defensive lineman of the past” in order to add something different, as coach John Harbaugh put it.

“He gives us a little bit of a change-of-speed pitch,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know, maybe it’s a fastball, maybe it’s with movement.”

And now, Peebles is working to prove he belongs.

“Me and him will be off talking,” Washington said. “He’ll be like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to show folks I can play the run. I’m more than just a pass rusher,’ and he’s chasing it. He’s in the weight room with me, ‘Trav’ [Travis Jones] and other guys trying to get stronger, and he’s working at it. I just can’t wait for him to show off what he can really do.”

Twenty days of training camp practices and two preseason games later, Peebles has already caught eyes.

In the first preseason game, against the Indianapolis Colts, Peebles had three tackles and a pass deflection. He followed it up with a tackle and a quarterback hit against the Dallas Cowboys. He used a spin move to beat the left guard and run quarterback Joe Milton down in the backfield, and he helped collapse the pocket to put pressure on Milton throughout the game.

“That boy can flat out rush the passer,” Washington said.

But that was expected. It was a skillset the Ravens noticed as they scouted him.

“Obviously, in the pass game, he’s good with transitioning [and] getting on edges,” said defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, who described Peebles as one of the most explosive defensive linemen he’s ever coached. “That’s kind of probably what pops off just naturally on tape.”

Pass rush coach Chuck Smith added that he “loves Fub”— a nickname Peebles said he received because he was “fat and chubby” as a baby — and said he had a “great grasp of pass rush moves.”

The real question was how Peebles would hold up as a run defender, especially when facing NFL offensive linemen as opposed to ACC linemen.

Peebles heard that question a lot during the pre-draft process. He marked his run defense as the top area he needed to focus on improving.

The Ravens had the top run defense in the league last year, and all the main players, other than nose tackle Michael Pierce, are back. Peebles joined Washington, Jones and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike in their workout sessions, determined to get stronger. Every day, he has matched them in their preparation and their energy, Johnson said.

Peebles knows he is different than his teammates. His game relies on quickness, leverage and his ability to change direction. Johnson also said Peebles has the fastest hands on the team. So they’ve worked to emphasize those qualities, finding ways to harness his explosiveness and adapt it to the Ravens’ run techniques.

Slowly but surely, the work has paid off. Johnson said Peebles has moved up the charts as he’s competed alongside his 300-plus-pound defensive line teammates.

While the Ravens gave up 4.5 yards per carry against the Colts in a run-heavy game, they kept the Cowboys to a measly 2.6 yards per carry. Across both games, Peebles graded out with a 70.6 PFF grade against the run.

Granted, Peebles has yet to be tested against NFL starters in a game scenario, Harbaugh said. But when he is, they still expect him to go out and compete.

On Tuesday, Peebles got his best opportunity to test himself with the Ravens sending the second- and third-string defense out against the offense’s starters.

Unfazed by the Pro Bowlers and veterans in front of him, he burst through the starting offensive line, stopping just short of making contact with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, proving his pass rush ability. And then Peebles beat them to make a tackle for loss against running back Justice Hill, showing he can stop the run as well.

Competition for the few remaining roster spots is fierce, but Peebles has made himself a top contender. And Harbaugh expects him to keep rising.

“I expect him to play at a really high level,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a really good player. We all do. He’s going to be out there, so he is going to have to do it, and he’s preparing now to do that.”