Eagles Draft Eli Stowers: QB Brain, Freak Athlete

0:00It's April 26th. From kickoff to the final whistle, this is NFL News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. The Philadelphia Eagles just snag Vanderbilt tight-in Eli Stowers at pick number 54 in the 2026 NFL Draft. This guy's got rare athleticism and a quarterback brain that could make him special. He started as a signal caller at Texas A&M, but a shoulder injury flipped him to tight-in, and he crushed it by winning the John Mackie Award as the top tight-in in college last year. Stowers put up 62 catches for 769 yards and four scores playing with a Heisman finalist at Vanderbilt. At the combine, the 239 pounder ran a 4.5 140 yard dash, leaped a 45.5 inch vertical and hit. An 11 foot 3 broad jump numbers that popped off the screen. Eagles coach Nick Seriani raved about his mismatched potential on all downs, saying he catches everything and explodes after the catch.

1:00Stowers himself credits his QB days for making the switch smooth, since he already gets offensive schemes, reads defenses, and knows assignments cold. The big question mark is blocking, where he's raw but eager to grind. Philly plans to mold him strictly as a tight-in, starting behind Dallas Goetert, with Johnny Munt as the number 3 option, could push Grant, Calcutera, Down the Dept Chart. With that QB smarts and freakish speed, Stowers looks primed to shake up the Eagles offense sooner than later.