Some Positive Signs After A Slow Spring For Eagles' Rookie Eli Stowers

As a second-round pick at a skill position, Philadelphia will almost certainly look to involve Stowers in the passing game early while hoping to continue his development as a blocker.

Eli Stowers runs through a drill during OTAs | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

Eli Stowers had a relatively quiet spring, leaving projections for the rookie tight end’s role this season all over the map.

What we do know is that new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is shifting the Eagles toward a more Shanahan/McVay-style offense. A hallmark of the modern incarnations of those offenses is heavy use of 12 personnel (two tight ends) and 13 personnel (three tight ends). 

As a second-round pick at a skill position, Philadelphia will almost certainly look to involve Stowers as a complement to Dallas Goedert in the passing game early while continuing his development as a blocker with the idea the rookie can be the heir apparent to the veteran star by 2027.

Heir Apparent

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert speaks with reporters in the spring of 2026. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

The former college quarterback has the athleticism to be a mismatch in the passing game, but he’ll need to prove he can contribute in the run game as well.

One potential concern is becoming too one-dimensional. If the Eagles lean heavily on the pass when Stowers is on the field and shift toward the run with Johnny Mundt’s superior technical blocking prowess is involved, it could limit the offense’s overall impact and make it easier to game-plan against.

Stowers’ lack of standout moments this spring carries some extra weight because it came at a no-pad, glorified passing camp — the exact environment where his explosive athleticism should have stood out. 

That said, the rookie onboarding process is notoriously difficult, and true settling-in usually doesn’t happen until training camp.

On the positive side, Stowers has consistently shown the less flashy but critical traits when left to how own devices this summer that matter most for long-term success. 

His strong work ethic is already well-documented: the Vanderbilt product transitioned from quarterback prospect at Texas A&M to star tight end in a rapid fashion. 

More so, at 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds, Stowers has the ideal frame and willingness to develop into a reliable blocker.

He also made the most of his downtime. Stowers returned to Nashville to attend Tight End University — the high-profile annual event founded by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen. He also had Central Florida on the travel list to work out with quarterback Jalen Hurts and other Eagles skill-position players. 

In a league where chemistry is everything, those extra reps with his QB1 are significant. Hurts has historically been slow to trust new targets, so the extra time on task could pay major dividends.

At just 23 years old, the biggest box checked is that Stowers is already demonstrating the maturity and self-discipline required of great NFL players.