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Eagles draft TE Eli Stowers No. 54 overall

The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Stowers earned first-team All-American honors and won the Mackey Award last year.

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The Eagles add another skill position player, drafting tight end Eli Stowers out of Vanderbilt with the No. 54 overall pick.

Stowers played five seasons of college football, starting his career at Texas A&M before spending a year at New Mexico State and transferring to Vanderbilt for his final two seasons.

The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Stowers had 638 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2024 before posting 62 grabs for 769 yards and four scores last season. Stowers set tight end Combine records in broad jump (11 feet, 3 inches), and vertical jump (45.5 inches).

Stowers earned first-team All-American honors and won the Mackey Award. He also won the William V. Campbell Trophy (Academic Heisman). The Eagles now have drafted the nation's top wide receiver (Makai Lemon, Biletnikoff Award) and tight end.

Stowers joins a room with Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, E.J. Jenkins, Cameron Latu, Johnny Mundt, Stone Smartt, and Jaheim Bell.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman: "I think when you find guys that have unique skill sets, and we have a lot of confidence in our coaches and our staff to develop players, especially when they have high football IQ and high character, and we know they're tough. I mean, it's exciting."

Head Coach Nick Sirianni: "The guy is super talented. Athletically, he does some things that nobody else can do. Just to be able to create mismatches with him on third downs and first and second down situations, he is a tough cover. [He] catches everything, good after the catch, [has] speed, quickness. So really excited to have him."

Eli Stowers: "It's just such a blessing to be a part of this team. Such a great program with so much history, and it's such a winning culture. I can't even explain how thankful I am for them to give me a chance and take a shot on me and believe in me to be able to help the team in that way. I'm so excited."

Career stats

111 receptions

1,407 receiving yards

11 touchdowns

2025 stats

Recorded 62 receptions for 769 yards and 4 touchdowns across 12 games

PFF overall grade of 81.6 (7th among 199 FBS tight ends nationally) and receiving grade of 85.3 (6th nationally)

Cole Payton

The Eagles kicked off the 2026 NFL Draft by moving up three spots in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys to select WR Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick.

Accolades

John Mackey Award winner: The first Vanderbilt player in program history to win the award

William V. Campbell Trophy winner, college football Academic Heisman, carrying a 3.92 GPA alongside his on-field excellence

First-Team All-American

First-Team All-SEC

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