Eli Stowers didn’t exactly light up the Eagles’ spring work, and that quiet stretch has left plenty of room for debate about how the rookie tight end fits into the offense this season.
That uncertainty comes with a bigger backdrop: new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is steering Philadelphia toward a more Shanahan/McVay-style attack. In those systems, 12 personnel and 13 personnel are staples, which puts tight ends right in the middle of the action.
For Stowers, a second-round pick at a skill position, that likely means early work as a passing-game complement to Dallas Goedert while he keeps developing as a blocker. The long-term vision is clear enough, too - the Eagles want the rookie to grow into the heir apparent to the veteran star by 2027.
The appeal is obvious. The former college quarterback brings the athleticism to create problems for defenses as a receiver. The question is whether he can hold up in the run game as well.
That’s where the risk of one-dimensional usage comes in. If Philadelphia uses Stowers primarily when it wants to throw and turns to Johnny Mundt for his better technical blocking when it wants to run, the offense could become easier to read and less effective overall.
His quiet spring matters more because it happened in a no-pad, glorified passing camp - the kind of setting where his explosiveness should have shown up.
Still, there’s a reason the team isn’t panicking. Rookie onboarding is a grind, and real comfort usually doesn’t arrive until training camp.
And there were encouraging signs away from the practice field. Stowers has already built a reputation for strong work ethic, and his path has been a fast one: the Vanderbilt product went from quarterback prospect at Texas A&M to star tight end in short order.
He also looks the part. At 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds, Stowers has the frame and the willingness to grow into a dependable blocker.
During his downtime, he kept working. Stowers went back to Nashville for Tight End University, the annual event founded by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen. He also traveled to Central Florida to work out with quarterback Jalen Hurts and other Eagles skill-position players.
That kind of extra time matters in a league built on timing and trust. Hurts has historically been slow to trust new targets, so those reps could pay off in a big way.
And at 23, Stowers is already checking the kind of box that matters most for a young NFL player: the maturity and self-discipline that great careers are built on.
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Eagles Interior Line Just Got A Crucial 2026 Reality Check
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There is at least some reason for optimism now, with both linemen said to be recovering well as the new season approaches and the Eagles also adding younger help in the draft. ESPNs latest interior line rankings offered a reminder of how much ground there is to make up, though, since neither Dickerson nor Jurgens cracked the top 14 and each only drew some votes. [Read more 🡒]