T
he hype around Chris Peal this offseason was so palpable that even Chris Peal couldn’t avoid it.
Sometime in the spring, the rising redshirt junior cornerback received a text from his mom attaching a way-too-early 2027 NFL Mock Draft. Peal’s name was among the first 32 listed, a projected first-round pick.
“It was surprising,” Peal said. “I don’t know if I really expected that.”
The recognition kept coming. He was mocked as a first-rounder by Bleacher Report on April 25. Then Athlon Sports two days later. Then Sports Illustrated the next day. Peal was the lone Syracuse player on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason team and was tabbed a Preseason All-American by Phil Steele and Sporting News. The NFL Mock Draft Database had Peal outside its top 500 prospects before he surged to No. 40 in late April. He’s bobbed around the late first and early second round in most mocks since.
If Peal climbs into the top 32, he’d be Syracuse’s first NFL Draft first-round pick since 2013 and first defensive back selected in the first round since 2001. Granted, a lot can change in a few months, especially with Peal projected to start every game this season.
“It was cool to hear that people were thinking highly of me like that, but that means that I really have a chance, and I really gotta go get it this year,” Peal said.
But why exactly did Peal climb so high — and what are the odds he sustains the hype? College football writers and NFL Draft analysts say his physicality, athleticism and proven success position him to break out and go off the board early next April.
“From the splash plays to the physical tools he brings to the table, he kind of checks all the boxes,” said Luke Easterling, an Athlon Sports writer who mocked Peal as the No. 30 pick in next year’s draft.
Syracuse defensive back Chris Peal lines up against Colgate receiver Brady Hutchinson during SU’s 66-24 victory over the Raiders on Sept. 12, 2025. Peal was tabbed as a potential first-round 2027 NFL Draft pick by some outlets throughout the spring. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
In analysts’ eyes, Peal’s rise was quick but not necessarily surprising. His numbers last season were modest — seven pass breakups, one forced fumble and no interceptions — but his 85.1 Pro Football Focus grade was by far the best of any SU defender and ranked first among returning ACC cornerbacks.
Easterling said there are a few ways players can get on his radar. Sometimes, game tape makes them unavoidable. Other times, he’ll see preseason recognition and note strengths and weaknesses. Easterling said Peal was a combination of both. He didn’t necessarily have some crazy offseason development. Analysts just began to recognize his potential as they dove further into 2027 prospects.
The intangibles jump off the page first. Peal stands 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, with arms that measured 31 inches before his freshman year at Georgia. It’s partially why he was a four-star recruit in 2023. Eric Edholm, an NFL Draft writer at Yahoo! Sports, said Peal’s size “fits that outside modern zone corner.”
“That height, weight and speed profile, playing in a major conference, it certainly gives you a chance to be a top-100 guy,” Edholm said.
Peal’s long arms and lanky stature help him disrupt receivers at the catch point and be a sure-handed tackler. Easterling and Edholm pointed to Peal’s forced fumble against Georgia Tech last season as a prime example of his willingness to use his frame to play physical and not give up on plays.
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“It’s encouraging when it’s a guy like Chris because it’s like, ‘Wow, I have this size, but I’m not just gonna let it go to waste as a run defender. I’m going to use this to my advantage,’” Easterling said.
In coverage, Edholm praised Peal’s ability to play with “late eyes” and “late hands,” meaning Peal has a knack for knowing when to turn his head and arms to make a play on a ball.
“He’ll be judged on his length, his weight, the 40-(yard dash) and the combine, but I just like his game,” said Bill Bender, a senior writer at Sporting News who put Peal on his Preseason All-America Second Team. “I think it’s fun to watch.”
It also helps that Peal’s in an NFL-style system — according to new SU defensive coordinator Vince Kehres — under coaches with strong track records of developing defensive backs.
At Georgia, Fran Brown coached a plethora of NFL DBs, notably Houston Texans corner Kamari Lassiter, who Brown said he thinks is the best at his position in the NFL. Kehres developed 2025 NFL All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell and 2026 second-round safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at Toledo. Defensive backs coach Perry Eliano — who also taught McNeil-Warren with the Rockets — coached former top-5 NFL Draft pick Sauce Gardner and Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant at Cincinnati.
“I think our scheme simulates an NFL scheme,” Kehres said on Aug. 8. “I think the skill set of what they’re doing translates well to what the NFL is looking for in a defensive back.”
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“He puts people in the right circumstances,” Peal said of Kehres and his defense. “He plays to his players’ strengths. He knows what he’s doing so well that the scheme is so sound, and everybody fits in the right place. He puts everybody where they can be their best.”
For Peal, that’s on the outside. Last year, he mainly mirrored opponents’ No. 2 receivers while Demetres Samuel Jr. took most No. 1 matchups. But Peal still showed out against stellar competition. Per PFF’s matchup reports, Peal held UConn wideout Skyler Bell — a Buffalo Bills 2026 draft pick — to one catch for six yards and Tennessee receivers to a combined two catches for 21 yards in last year’s season-opener.
Edholm said SU’s Week 4 win over Clemson seemed to be one of the only matchups where opponents put a “target on his back.” But Peal held his own against Tigers wideout T.J. Moore, allowing five catches on 11 targets. Bender said “(Peal) started to turn it up in that last quarter of the season” in matchups against Miami, Notre Dame and Boston College.
He’ll get numerous big matchups this season against quarterbacks and receivers he may meet again at the next level. But Peal insists there’s nobody in particular circled on his calendar.
“I’m trying to just go play,” he said.
There are, of course, some things Peal must patch up to be pro-ready. The most notable stat is his zero interceptions last season, though analysts are divided on how much that matters when evaluating corners. Edholm said Peal is also more of a zone corner than a press-man corner, but filling out his frame would boost his pro prospects.
Peal said his main goal this season is to “go get my hands on the ball” with pass breakups, forced fumbles, sacks or interceptions. For him to truly be an All-American, Bender said a few picks would help the case.
Chris Peal runs down Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr in the Orange’s 70-7 loss to the Fighting Irish on Nov. 22, 2025. Peal will face a number of potential NFL Draft picks this season, like Carr, while he tries to prepare himself for the next level. Jacob Halsema | Daily Orange File Photo
Over the offseason, Peal worked with Brown, Kehres and Eliano to brush up his technique. Peal said Brown wants his defensive backs to be “masters of technique.” Eliano said Peal’s main focus is to clean up “those little things that (are) going to be the difference in the fourth quarter.”
“We’re not looking at the results,” Eliano said of his work with Peal. “We’re just focused on today. Did we get better today? How do we get better this afternoon in the meeting room? How do we take that to tomorrow morning’s walkthrough? And so that’s been the focus, to live in the now.”
“The now,” for Peal, is Saturday’s season opener against New Hampshire. He’s heard the noise at this point. He knows if he lives up to the preseason hype this year, he can rewrite Syracuse football history.
But the road to realizing those expectations is long. His first step is to help Syracuse exceed its own.
“First round and all that stuff will come when it comes,” Brown said. “Chris is going to play in the NFL, but we’re going to handle what we got to handle here.”
Photograph courtesy of SU Athletics