Before every NFL Draft, experts and fans of the game dream of the perfect landing spot for their favorite prospects. When those landing spot expectations aren’t met, many blow their previous values out of the water. I am a firm believer that talent typically prevails over a bad situation — vise versa a good situation does not necessarily mean the talent or production will all of the sudden appear.
One 2026 NFL Draft prospect whose landing spot is being overlooked is Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers, who was taken 54th overall with the Eagles’ second round pick. He hopes to carry on the legacy of Philadelphia’s phenomenal track record of drafting tight ends in Round 2, following in the footsteps of Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz. GM Howie Roseman is also hoping that is the case.
Stowers is a 6-foot-4, 239 pound pure receiving tight end. Coming out of high school he was the No. 12 ranked quarterback via 247sports, ranking just ahead of both Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe. After spending two seasons in College Station, he transferred to New Mexico where he became a full-time Tight End. He didn’t fully blossom until he and Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck took their talents to Vanderbilt. After just three seasons playing the position, Stowers caught 11 touchdowns and racked up 1,774 receiving yards (88th percentile) on 148 receptions (92nd percentile). He also picked up first-team All-SEC honors in 2024 followed by the John Mackey Award in 2025 (most outstanding TE in college football), while also earning first-team All-American honors.
Pre-draft, I ranked Stowers ahead of Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq based off of my prospect evaluations. Today, I’d still draft the Vanderbilt TE over Sadiq in dynasty rookie drafts regardless of draft capital. Since Sadiq ran a blazing 4.39 forty at the NFL Combine, he’s been mocked as a top 15-to-20 prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. My rankings do not change simply because what was expected to happen, happened. Even from a post-draft perspective, Sadiq landed with the New York Jets, while Stowers landed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Eli will have a much better QB situation, a TE-friendlier offense, with room to develop behind a true veteran TE in Goedert.
Although Sadiq ran a 4.39, it was actually Stowers that produced the higher Relative Athletic Score (RAS) from the Combine. The Eagles’ new TE ran a 4.51 forty (97th percentile), earning himself a 94th percentile speed score. In addition to that he boasts a 100th percentile burst score and 99th percentile catch radius. He has an 100th percentile vertical and broad jump as well. His NFL Combine performance put him at a 9.46 RAS, edging out fellow rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq who posted a 9.43 RAS. Player Profiler has him as the 7th most athletic TE all-time and the most athletic in the 2026 NFL Draft Class.
Regarding production, Stowers accounted for 22% of his teams’ total receiving yards and touchdowns, good for an 82nd percentile college dominator rating. His 12.7 yards per reception was in the 79th percentile. In all three seasons he spent as a tight end, he ranked in the top-25 in PFF Receiving Grade — including two top-7 seasons in his two years at Vanderbilt.
Max Klare averaged 1.74 yards per route run (YPRR), while Kenyon Sadiq averaged 1.72 YPRR. Stowers averaged 2.34 YPRR throughout the course of his collegiate career, which ranks in the 92nd percentile of TE prospects. Comparing his efficiency numbers to other elite TE prospects is where we find our edge. Stowers ranked 5th amongst previous and potential Round 1 Tight Ends since 2015 in yards per route run excluding screens with 2.22 YPRR):
Stowers also had the 5th-highest single-season yards per route run rate amongst fellow Round 1 through 3 TEs since 2020. He’s alongside some great company here:
The only Tight Ends that had a higher collegiate target share over just the last three NFL Draft classes are Harold Fannin, Tyler Warren, Tanner Koziol (another one “my guys), Colston Loveland, and Oronde Gadsden. He surpassed both Kenyon Sadiq and Max Klare again here:
Both Stowers’ career targets per route run (0.27) and yards per route run (2.34) led the 2026 NFL Tight End Class by a decent margin. The next closest was Michael Trigg who averaged 1.87 yards per route run.
Those aren’t the only metrics Eli Stowers led this TE Class in either. He had the highest receiving yards per team pass attempt (RYPTPA) in his best season with 2.11 — while Sadiq had 1.35 receiving yards per team pass attempt in his best season.
Stowers also accomplished a feat only three other TEs have since 2018, with two of them ranking amongst the top-5 dynasty TEs and one that is a former top-5 dynasty TE:
Personally, I have my reasons to fade Sadiq and take Stowers. Outside of the forty-yard dash, there are few metrics that Sadiq edges out Stowers in. And like I mentioned earlier, I’m more intrigued by Stowers’ new home in Philadelphia than Sadiq’s landing spot in New York.
I believe the value of Stowers will pay off. Yes, DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown still exist (although AJ Brown is likely gone) — but both Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers seem to be the future of the Eagles in terms of weaponry. I not only drafted Stowers with my 1.12 in the annual RSJ Staff 2026 Dynasty Rookie Draft, but I also compared the duo of Makai Lemon-Eli Stowers to a Luther Burden-Colston Loveland lite.
Accounting for all of size, production, and athleticism — I’d say the NFL player comparison for Eli Stowers is Trey McBride. Both are quick, receiving tight ends that came out of the draft process in the 6’3, 240-ish pound range, had long arms, and low drop rates. McBride was obviously more dominant as a prospect, as he caught 10 touchdowns and 2,100 receiving yards on 164 receptions in his collegiate career. But, Stowers has the edge athleticism-wise and certainly gives McBride a run for his money production-wise. In terms of receiving efficiency, here’s how Stowers and McBride matched up over the course of their collegiate careers:
Eli Stowers – 6’3, 239 lbs, 4.51 forty (97th percentile):
- 957 Yards After the Catch
- 6.5 Yards After the Catch / Reception
- 2.34 Yards per Route Run
- 7.6 Average Depth of Target
- 17 Contested Catches
- 3.9% Drop Rate
- 26 Missed Tackles Forced
Trey McBride – 6’3, 246 lbs, 4.61 forty (89th percentile):
- 905 Yards After the Catch
- 5.5 Yards After the Catch / Reception
- 2.11 Yards per Route Run
- 8.4 Average Depth of Target
- 28 Contested Catches
- 3.5% Drop Rate
- 15 Missed Tackles Forced
I have been able to get Stowers after Sadiq was drafted in every single dynasty rookie draft I’ve selected him in — which bodes well for our fade in the price of Sadiq. Stowers typically goes around the 1.09 to 1.12 range, as most of the top receivers in this class get selected before him more often than not. The only other receivers I’m taking over Eli Stowers are Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate, and KC Concepcion — I have him nearly dead-even with Jordyn Tyson. Stowers was my TE1 before the 2026 NFL Draft over Kenyon Sadiq, and I’m even more confident in that ranking post-draft:
