Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers will likely be the second tight end taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, reinventing himself as a pass-catcher with off-the-charts athleticism for his size and earning comps to Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf in the draft process. But becoming a star tight end in college wasn’t the path that Stowers was initially supposed to take to reach the NFL.
Five years and three schools ago, Stowers was coveted enough as a quarterback recruit that 247 Sports ranked him as the nation’s No. 12 quarterback, one spot ahead of Jaxson Dart. But persistent shoulder issues, including a torn labrum and the resulting surgery, made it difficult and even painful for him to throw in college, such that he didn’t attempt a pass in two years at Texas A&M.
Stowers transitioned to tight end at New Mexico State, then found a new identity there in the last two years at Vanderbilt, catching eight touchdowns this past season and winning the John Mackey Award, given to college football’s top tight end.
“I’m so thankful to be where I’m at. I know it’s a blessing to be in this position,” Stowers told me.
Position has been a key word in Stowers’ football life, and even now, his combination of size and speed is a rarity. He’s 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds, but also ran the 40 in 4.51 seconds and came within a half-inch of the NFL combine record at any position with a 45.5-inch vertical leap. That’s made some NFL teams wonder if he could be a big receiver instead of a fast tight end, but Stowers just wants to get on the field and make plays.
“I can play wherever a team wants me to play,” he said by phone, taking a break between NFL visits. “If somebody wants to line me out wide, I did that at Vanderbilt, and I can stretch the field that way. I played my whole career at Vanderbilt at tight end, so I can obviously do that, too. I’m just a football player. You can put me wherever.”
Eli Stowers played quarterback at Texas A&M before becoming a star college tight end. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher had mentioned the possibility of playing tight end to Stowers when he was at College Station. Still, even when he transferred to NMSU, he did so as a quarterback, competing with Diego Pavia for the starting job. He practiced at both positions, but was valuable enough as a backup quarterback that he didn’t go to tight end meetings until late that season, finishing with 35 catches for 366 yards and two scores. When NMSU offensive coordinator Tim Beck left for the same job at Vanderbilt. Stowers and Pavia transferred with him.
Stowers thrived at Vanderbilt. When the Commodores knocked off No. 1 Alabama in October 2024, Stowers led the team with six catches for 113 yards. Three weeks later, in a three-point loss to No. 5 Texas, he had a touchdown in the final minute. Pavia finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2025, with Stowers as a top target, totaling 111 catches for 1,407 yards and nine touchdowns in two years at Vanderbilt.
“Two years ago, when we beat Alabama, we had a lot of man coverage and we used him as a receiver,” Beck told me. “We played him at tight end, but we put him out wide and motioned him in and found a way to utilize some man-beaters to get him the ball. He’s explosive enough that he’ll continue to get better at some of the twitchier, shorter routes. And with the great vertical he’s got, being able to go up and get footballs, that’s going to get better. I think he’s got a bright future, however they use him.”
Stowers wants to make it clear that any talk of him playing receiver shouldn’t be a knock on his blocking, something he’s taken pride in and improved on since becoming a tight end.
“The narrative that my blocking is an issue, I feel like anybody that really watches my film from this past year can see I’ve gotten a lot better,” he said. “Anybody that’s saying that really doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
After so much time as a quarterback, Stowers sees the game as a tight end now. His go-to players to watch on tape are Travis Kelce and Hall of Fame Chargers tight end Antonio Gates. Vanderbilt’s offense had a route called “Chief” as a nod to Kelce, one that Stowers had great success in over the last two seasons.
Eli Stowers and Diego Pavia formed one of the top quarterback and pass catcher duos in the SEC this past season. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“You can tell their understanding of the game is what makes them so good at what they do,” Stowers said. “Kelce, especially, being a former quarterback, I think we’re similar that way. He knows how to read zones, to use leverage to beat man coverage, to use his body to create separation. He’s a quarterback’s best friend, and that’s why he and [Patrick] Mahomes have such good chemistry. Gates used such subtle movements to get open, and I try to learn from that.”
Stowers worked this past season with former Vanderbilt and NFL receiver Jordan Matthews, who was an offensive consultant at his alma mater and said he shouldn’t be limited by any positional titles.
“Eli has what it takes to be a No. 1 receiving option in your offense, regardless of what letters you put beside his name,” Matthews told me. “Who’s your No. 1 option when you drop back? There were years when I was with the Eagles, [Zach] Ertz was the No. 1 option in the passing game. He has what it takes to be the No. 1 option.”
Matthews was picked 42nd overall in 2014, the highest ever for a Vanderbilt pass-catcher, but he thinks Stowers could and should be taken higher next week.
“He’s athletic enough to beat any safety, he’s big enough to catch against any corner or nickel, outside or inside, and he’s smart enough to pick up any offense he’s going to be in,” Matthews said. “To me, he’s a first-rounder. He should not go past 42nd. I think it’s very clear how you can implement him in an offense. He’s more than capable.”
Matthews said his favorite route for Stowers was an “18-yard dagger,” deep enough to require receiver speed. When Vanderbilt played South Carolina this past year, the Gamecocks had won 16 straight in the rivalry, and when the Commodores faced a third-and-21 trying to preserve the lead in the second half, they called a pass to Stowers, which he caught for a 24-yard gain to move the chains.
In terms of size and speed, the NFL tight end that Stowers most closely matches is the Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers, a 2024 first-round pick who has set tight end records and made the Pro Bowl in each of his two pro seasons. Bowers is 6-4, 235 pounds and ran a 4.55 40, and the parallels come from someone who worked with both of them.
“There are so many similarities, it’s crazy,” Darrell Dickey, who was Stowers’ offensive coordinator at A&M and later an analyst at Georgia, told me. “Brock has been playing the position a lot longer, but they’re both extremely fast for a quote-unquote tight end. They both have unbelievable athletic ability. They both have unbelievable work ethics. They’re kind of quiet guys, and they can block.
“The ability is there to do the things Brock Bowers has done. They’re very similar, and Eli’s going to continue to grow and has the potential to develop into that type of player.”
Brock Bowers has quickly emerged as one of the NFL’s top tight ends. Darrell Dickey, who coached Bowers and Eli Stowers in college, wouldn’t be surprised if Stowers played like the Raiders’ star at the next level. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Both of Stowers’ parents were college athletes, with father Donald playing defensive back at New Mexico State and mother Tina playing volleyball at Baylor. He’s not even the most accomplished athlete in the family, as his sister Kyndal was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship last fall after leading A&M to a national title in volleyball.
Stowers has had official visits with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys and met with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is expected to be the first tight end drafted, potentially in the middle of the first round. Once Sadiq’s off the board, Stowers should be the next tight end to go off the board, but that might not happen until Day 2. FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang has Stowers ranked 58th on his top 150 draft prospects list, touting the tight end’s athleticism while questioning his strength. Still, Rang mentioned that Stowers is worthy of being a top-50 pick in this year’s class.
However, Stowers said he isn’t worried about when he’s picked and will enter the NFL with confidence, regardless.
“I feel like I’m the best tight end in the draft,” Stowers said. “Any team that gets me will get a guy that’s going to help their team win in whatever way I possibly can. As long as the team really wants me, that’s a blessing in itself.”
Read the full article here
