The Eagles may be getting a first real glimpse of what Eli Stowers can become, and it’s arriving faster than plenty of people expected.
That wasn’t the script when the season began. Stowers opened the year on IR with a quad injury, which naturally cooled the early buzz around the rookie tight end. Philadelphia had drafted him in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft with the idea that he could eventually follow Dallas Goedert at the position, but minicamp and training camp already showed he was still a work in progress and needed time to adjust to the NFL.
The last two weeks, though, have given Eagles fans a little something to hold onto.
In Week 7, a 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Stowers barely got involved. He was on the field for limited snaps and saw just one target, and that came at the very end of the game. A week later against Washington, the picture looked different.
In the Eagles’ 27-10 loss to the Commanders in Week 8, Stowers played 13 offensive snaps and was targeted three times. He caught all three passes for 53 yards, which was the second-most on the team.
That included his best moment of the day late in the game, when he hauled in a 34-yard catch with under a minute left. Even with three defenders converging on him, he kept churning and picked up several more yards.
The Commanders had already accepted the outcome by then, but the effort still stood out. It was the kind of play that says plenty about a rookie who isn’t going to coast just because the game is out of reach.
Stowers also brings the kind of athletic profile that can turn heads. He ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, the second-fastest time among tight ends in the class. That’s the raw speed that made him such an intriguing pick in the first place, even if the transition has taken longer than some hoped.
Philadelphia’s expectations for him were tied to a quicker path into a role behind Goedert, especially on passing downs. That hasn’t fully happened yet, but the signs are starting to show up.
And with about a week left before the trade deadline, the situation around Goedert only adds another layer. He has been the subject of trade talk because he is on a one-year deal, and the Eagles sitting at 2-6 doesn’t help calm that noise. If Goedert ends up being moved, Stowers could suddenly find himself with a much bigger opportunity.
For now, the encouraging part is simple: his hands are looking good, and he’s beginning to flash the kind of ability that made him a second-round pick. If Philadelphia decides to lean into the future, there’s a clear case for giving Stowers more snaps and letting him build through live reps. With the season already looking lost, the Eagles may as well see what they have.
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