The Philadelphia Eagles believe they have their tight end of the future in 2026 2nd-round pick Eli Stowers.
For this year, at least, Stowers will have to be a willing pupil.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinks that’s a role Stowers might be able to thrive in from the jump, listing the 6-foot-4, 239-pound Vanderbilt product as 1 of the NFL’s top backup options.
“Stowers offers athleticism as a ‘move’ tight end to supplement an underwhelming group of wide receivers,” Barnwell wrote on July 20. “The Vanderbilt product caught 62 passes for 769 yards in his final year at school, winning the Mackey Award in the process. He’s not going to be an every-down tight end in Philadelphia’s offense … but Stowers could be a valuable playmaker before taking over for Dallas Goedert as the Eagles’ starter in 2027.”
The Eagles have had a pretty clear line of succession at tight end over the last decade-plus — and a pretty successful 1 at that.
Eagles Have Developed Tight Ends Into Stars
The Eagles have found their last 2 superstar tight ends — and 2 Super Bowl winners — in the early rounds, as they did with Stowers. Just like Stowers, both of those tight ends had to take a backseat as rookies.
The Eagles selected Pro Bowler Zach Ertz in the 2nd round (No. 35 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He had to play behind longtime starter Brent Celek as a rookie, and Ertz had 36 receptions for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns while playing in all 16 regular-season games with 3 starts. Celek had 32 receptions for 502 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Eagles selected Goedert in the 2nd round (No. 49 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft while Ertz was still the starter. As a rookie, Goedert had 33 receptions for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns while playing in all 16 games with 8 starts, while Ertz had 1 of the best seasons for a tight end in NFL history — 116 receptions for 1,163 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Eagles Ignored ‘Injury Concerns’ With Stowers
They may hope they struck gold again with Stowers at No. 54 overall, but may have had to overlook a serious injury issue to do so.
“Second-round tight end Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) was widely considered TE2, but multiple teams viewed him as a big wideout, similar to Michael Pittman Jr.,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in Paril. “That will give Philly flexibility in how it uses him. A few teams had knee concerns with Stowers due to a past injury, but by all indications the Eagles did not, and the issue is considered minor (he was durable throughout college).”
If Stowers does indeed have problems with his knee, then it’s even more incredible what he did at the NFL scouting combine in February. That’s where he wowed scouts with a 4.51-second 40-yard dash as well as clocking a 45.5-inch vertical leap.
“Oh my Lord,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote on his official X acount on February 27. “Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers. 45.5-inch vertical jump. Tied with Cameron Wake for the third-highest vert in the Combine (since 1999).”
The Eagles made a point of getting help for much-maligned NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts in the draft, using their 1st 2 picks on pass-catching targets with Stowers and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon in the 1st round at No. 20 overall.
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