Eli Stowers has already hit the part of NFL life that nobody likes talking about much: the frustration.
The Eagles’ rookie tight end is still early in his first training camp, and the growing pains are showing. He’s working behind Dallas Goedert and veteran blocking specialist Johnny Mundt on the depth chart, and through the first six practices, the consistency and downfield production haven’t been there yet.
That hasn’t shaken Stowers.
“It's always a challenge when something bad goes down, and you just have to continuously learn how to get back up, not worry about the last play and continue on to the next play,” Stowers said after practice Wednesday.
He kept coming back to the same theme: keep learning, keep moving, keep stacking days.
“I'm just out here trying to learn, continuously learn every single day. And I'm really appreciative of my coaches so far just trying to help me get going at this level and I'm super excited for what's going to come.”
The Eagles drafted the Vanderbilt tight end 54th overall, making him the second tight end selected in this year’s draft behind only Kenyon Sadiq of Oregon, who went No. 16 to the Jets. It was also the 3rd-highest the Eagles have taken a tight end since Keith Jackson went No. 13 in 1988. Their recent history at the position includes Zach Ertz at No. 36 in 2013 and Dallas Goedert at No. 33 in 2018.
Stowers’ college résumé shows why the Eagles were interested. Over the last three years at Vanderbilt, he caught 146 passes for 1,773 yards and 11 touchdowns. Since 2023, only Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green and Tanner Koziol of Ball State and Houiston posted more receiving yards among tight ends.
So the hands and playmaking ability are real. It’s just that camp has not yet brought the same kind of splash.
At least not yet.
“At the end of the day, this is a game where there's gonna be ups and downs,” Stowers said. “And you just have to learn how to bounce back from adversity.
No one who has ever played this game has ever been perfect. And the ones who are great are the ones that can bounce back back from the adversity and go make the next play.
“I think it's continuously getting easier for me. But I think that's something that's a challenge for a lot of people.”
The biggest adjustment, by his own admission, is mental. He’s a big, fast rookie stepping into a new system at a new level, and the defense he’s facing is Vic Fangio’s. That’s a tough classroom for anybody.
“The offense and the way that the defenses do their schemes at this level, it's a little more complex than it was in college,” he said. “I think (it’s) just a mental challenge, but that's just about putting the time in and learning it and trying to get better with it.”
What helps is the room around him. Goedert and Mundt have combined for 243 NFL games over 17 seasons, giving the 23-year-old rookie a steady pair of veterans to lean on.
“It's awesome,” Stowers said. “Just being able to learn continuously. I mean, I've been playing this position for going on three years now, and being around those guys who have been in the league for 10 years, just learning from them.
“They have so much experience, so much knowledge, so much wisdom. They've taken me in, tried to help me get better with the things that I'm trying to get better at as well.”
Even with the slow start and mostly third-team reps, Stowers doesn’t sound rattled. He says the work is already showing up in small ways, and he’s focused on the long game.
“I think right now it's just focusing on trying to get better,” he said. “That's what training camp is for.
You're trying to get the best that you can be for the season, prepare for it. And I think that's what I'm focused on right now.
“Just this last week, I've already seen a ton of improvement in my game, and that's props to the coaches who've been helping me out and the other players who've been helping me out. All I have to do is put in the work, and you'll continuously see progress, and that's what I've seen so far.”
And for now, that’s the job: absorb, adjust, and keep going.
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