Stop Panicking About Eli Stowers
When the Philadelphia Eagles selected former Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, everyone inside of the Jefferson Health Training Complex understood that it was a long-term move. Yet apparently many Eagles fans didn’t receive that message. It’s time to stop panicking about Stowers and here’s why.
The 23-year-old rookie didn’t make the full-time move from quarterback to tight end until 2024. It was clear coming out of college that Stowers had a long way to go as a blocker at the position. Yet in a world that seeks instant gratification, many are already upset with Stowers’ performance in Philadelphia’s preseason opener — which is absolutely ridiculous.
Stowers hauled in all three of his targets for 12 yards and likely could’ve been targeted a few more times, if I’m being completely honest. He was called for a holding penalty on the first play of the game for the Eagles, yet I’m not sure that flag would’ve been thrown in most games. Stowers was far from perfect as a blocker in his first NFL game, yet I thought that he showed enough willingness and toughness to at least develop into a competent player in that area.
One of Stowers’ best attributes is his ability to use his athleticism to make plays down the field and after the catch. Yet he was mostly asked to run short routes with little-to-no opportunity for yards after the catch in his first game. While most people believe that this is the end of the world, it’s far from it. Many Eagles players explained that Philadelphia’s offense was incredibly vanilla in the preseason opener and that likely included Stowers’ usage as well.
It’s also important to keep preseason production in perspective. While many are disappointed with the 23-year-old rookie tight end’s performance, he has actually already recorded more receptions during the preseason of his rookie year than some of the NFL’s best tight ends did during their rookie years. Here’s a closer look at the preseason production of Stowers in comparison to the NFL’s best tight ends during their rookie years:
Eli Stowers: 3 receptions on 3 targets for 12 yards in one game
Tyler Warren: 4 receptions on 6 targets for 65 yards in two games
Dalton Kincaid: 3 receptions on 4 targets for 45 yards in three games
Colston Loveland: 4 receptions on 5 targets for 38 yards in three games
George Kittle: 3 receptions on 7 targets for 33 yards and 1 TD in two games
Travis Kelce: 2 receptions on 5 targets for 28 yards and two drops in three games
Brock Bowers: 2 receptions on 2 targets for 25 yards in one game
Tucker Kraft: 3 receptions on 6 targets for 11 yards in three games
Trey McBride: 0 receptions on 2 targets in two games
Sam LaPorta: 0 receptions on 1 targets and one drop in one game
As you can see, it’s not like any of these players were necessarily lighting the world on fire during the preseason. Therefore, it’s time to lighten up a bit on Stowers and his perceived “struggles” so far. He’s in his third year as a full-time tight end and seems to already be trending in the right direction following his slow start to training camp. In a world that’s eager to tear everyone down, why not show some patience?
The great Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice wrote an insightful article in May (which you can read here: https://www.phillyvoice.com/projecting-first-year-roles-each-eagles-8-rookie-draft-picks-2026-makai-lemon-eli-stowers-uar-bernard/) that projected roles for each of the Eagles rookies. In the section about Stowers, Kempski highlighted the average rookie year production of tight ends selected in the second round of the NFL Draft since 2018. Kempski’s research revealed an average of just 28 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
Therefore, it doesn’t make any sense for everyone to be so down about Stowers less than four months into his NFL career in Philadelphia. Anyone with half a brain understood that Stowers was a long-term addition that was going to require refinement in several areas. I’m old enough to remember when people were mad at the Eagles for selecting a defensive back-turned-edge rusher from Houston Christian. Maybe — just maybe — we should have a bit more patience with another position convert that also has a ton of upside?