The second tight end to come off the board in this year’s class, Eli Stowers joined an Eagles team that has used similar developmental strategies at the position
Philadelphia re-signed Dallas Goedert in March but looks to have an heir apparent in place. That prospect is now tied to a four-year contract, with the Eagles announcing Monday that Stowers put pen to paper. The No. 54 overall pick will be tied to an $8.89MM deal. Based on agreements for players selected around Stowers, most of this contract will be guaranteed.
With Browns safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren receiving three fully guaranteed years as the No. 58 overall pick — to go with a partial Year 4 guarantee, per OverTheCap — Stowers will see three fully guaranteed years and a chunk of his 2029 salary locked in at signing. This year’s Nos. 55, 56 and 57 overall draftees have not been signed, but the Colts’ deal for No. 53 overall pick C.J. Allen includes a $639K guarantee on a $2.13MM 2029 base salary. Stowers assuredly secured a comparable guarantee in 2029. For now, he will get to work in a position group fronted by a long-running incumbent.
Under Howie Roseman, the Eagles identified Goedert in Round 2 (2018) while Zach Ertz was still rostered. Ertz and Goedert played together for three-plus seasons, before Ertz extension talks did not yield an agreement; Ertz was then traded to the Cardinals during the 2021 season. The Eagles extended Goedert soon after. The team drafted Ertz in the 2013 second round. Brent Celek remained on Philly’s roster until 2017, but Ertz usurped him as the team’s top tight end by 2014. With Goedert on a one-year deal and entering an age-31 season, it will be interesting to see how long Stowers’ developmental period lasts.
Viewed as a player who drew some first-round buzz, Stowers went through the draft with a knee concern that impacted some teams’ interest. As our Rory Parks noted Sunday, Stowers tore his left PCL and meniscus in 2019 while working as a high school quarterback. The Vanderbilt product bounced back nicely from that injury, but it is interesting some teams still viewed it as an issue.
Stowers was a unanimous All-American and the John Mackey Award winner (given to the best college tight end) in 2025. Stowers weighed 239 pounds and clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. He profiles as a receiving tight end, whereas Goedert has been one of the league’s best all-around TEs for much of his career, and finished his final Commodores season with 62 catches for 769 yards. That came after a 49/638/5 line in 2024.
The Eagles will now begin their latest TE developmental program, after spending years without a Goedert successor option. Goedert is tied to a one-year, $7MM contract; that checks in lower than the pay-cut agreement the eight-year veteran signed in 2025 (one year, $10MM). Only one Eagles draftee — third-round tackle Markel Bell — remains unsigned.