Eagles selected Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers with the No. 54 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

25 April 2026

Stowers (6’4/239) was originally a four-star quarterback recruit at Texas A&M. After two seasons of holding the clipboard, he transferred to New Mexico State. Instead of having him back up Diego Pavia, the Aggies staff moved him to tight end and he immediately took to the position, going for 366 yards as a junior. Pavia and Stowers both transferred to Vanebrilt and the duo’s connection blossomed. Stowers racked up 638 yards in 2024 and 769 yards in 2025. With 62 grabs and four scores, Stowers won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. His draft stock hit new heights at the NFL Combine when he set the vertical record at 45.5” and the tight end broad jump record at 11’3”. Add in a 4.51 40 and you’ve got a 90th-percentile athlete, even when adjusting for his slightly undersized build. Stowers has too much speed for linebackers and is still too big for most corners. At his best, he’s a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. His blocking is still a work in progress and he’ll likely top out as a functional inline blocker in the pros. Even if that’s the case, he could wind up as the best pass-catcher in the class when all is said and done. That, however, may take a year to materialize. Stowers will likely spend his rookie season rotating in behind Dallas Goedert. Goedert is a free agent after 2026, meaning Stowers could take over the starting gig in his second season.