‘A dark time’: How Eagles draft pick turned rock bottom into NFL future

Five years ago, Eli Stowers noticed a concerning lack of power on his throws.

Despite displaying the arm strength in high school to become a four-star recruit and land with Texas A&M, Stowers could not push the ball downfield in practice – no matter how hard he tried. Stowers, a college freshman at the time, was ineffective. And worried.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t throw,” he told his parents over the phone.

“My husband and I told him, ‘You’re just nervous. You’ve played quarterback since you were 7, so you can’t tell me you can’t throw a football,’” Eli’s mother, Tina Stowers, said.

It turned out to be more than nerves.

Stowers was playing through a torn labrum and needed surgery. He underwent the procedure after his freshman season and missed most of his sophomore season while recovering.

Stowers didn’t know it at the time, but it was the unlucky break he needed to transform into an NFL prospect and prove that the lowest of times can define you – in good ways. It all paid off last week when the Eagles drafted him with the 54th pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. As a tight end.

“It was awful,” Tina Stowers said of her son’s injury. “My husband took a day once just to go down and take him out for dinner and hang because you could just hear it in his voice, like he was defeated.”

After returning from surgery, Stowers struggled with his throwing mechanics and never regained his confidence. He hoped a fresh start at New Mexico State in 2023 would help him get back on track, but 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Diego Pavia beat him out for the starting job.

Stowers desperately wanted playing time. And that landed him with this harsh reality: he might need to move on from quarterback.

New Mexico State gave him that chance by moving him to tight end on a part-time basis after the first month of the season. He finished that year with 35 catches for 366 yards and two touchdowns, and it only got better from there.

He snagged 49 receptions for 638 yards and five touchdowns during his first season at Vanderbilt in 2024 and followed that up in 2025 with 62 catches for 769 yards and four touchdowns. Stowers’ performance in 2025 helped him win the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s best tight end.

Tears flowed from Stowers’ eyes after his name got called in Pittsburgh on Day 2 of the NFL draft. He had come a long way.

“Eli wasn’t ready to walk away from the game,” Tina Stowers said. “He was a hundred percent all in, knowing that he could do it, which I think was huge. Because if he questioned himself at all, it probably wouldn’t have happened either.”

‘A dark time’

Stowers moved to Little Elm, Texas, when he was 6 years old after his father accepted a head coaching job at a local high school.

After watching his father’s team ride a float during a homecoming parade, he told his mom, “I want to do that.” He signed up for football that upcoming fall and quickly became a starting quarterback.

For the next 11 years, being a star quarterback became a huge part of his identity. He was the most talented player on the field from his Pop Warner days to his final snap at Guyer High School. He was crushed when his arm betrayed him.

“I mean, it was very, very, very scary,” Tina Stowers said. “Probably even a dark time would be a good way to explain it.”

But this wasn’t the first obstacle Stowers faced.

Stowers tore his PCL and meniscus on the sixth play of the state championship game during his junior season in high school. Guyer lost, and Stowers spent the following months recovering during the COVID-19 pandemic. With training facilities closed, he rehabbed at home and was able to get himself ready for his senior season.

“Eli’s in the garage at our house with the garage door up,” Tina Stowers said. “It’s 98 degrees, 100% humidity, and he’s getting after it because he doesn’t have anybody to help him with it. It’s like Eli just took that upon himself and he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m not done. I gotta fix this, and I gotta fix this now.’”

And he doesn’t need to look far — even in his own home — for inspiration on how to battle adversity.

His sister, Kyndal, recovered from four concussions on the volleyball court in 2024 and turned into a star for Texas A&M in 2025. Eli provided emotional support for Kyndal during the 2024 season, and she helped him during the tough moments of his college career.

Her support ultimately gave him the confidence to switch positions.

“Their belief for each other is so, so big,” Tina Stowers said about Eli’s relationship with his sister. “It was kind of like neither one of them were going to let the other give up. It’s like, ‘Nope, sorry, this isn’t done. What’s the next answer? What’s plan B?’ They were a crutch for each other, a shoulder to cry on, somebody to call and talk to.”

‘Eagles hit the gold mine’

Stowers never attended a tight end meeting during his one season at New Mexico State, but his coaches didn’t need him to. He learned the tight end techniques quickly, rarely made mistakes, and still split his time at quarterback, which made his transition even more impressive.

“He’s the only guy I’ve ever been around who could do that,” said former New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill, who is now a consultant at Vanderbilt. “I’ve coached for 42 years, and I’ve coached all kinds of guys who played in the NFL, and he’s by far the smartest guy that I’ve ever seen. You’re getting a special player. I’m just telling you, the Eagles hit the gold mine.”

During the 2023 season, New Mexico State pulled off a 31-10 upset victory over Auburn on the road. Stowers lined up that afternoon at quarterback and tight end and ran for 19 yards while catching four passes for 48 yards.

“That tells you a little bit,” Kill said. “We used him in every way we could because he’s a good athlete and is that smart.”

Stowers’ experience in quarterback rooms gives him an edge over tight ends who have played the position for a long time.

Vanderbilt ran Stowers on option routes, which made him diagnose the defense and pick what route to run. When a defensive back mirrored his outside shoulder, he would cut inside to create separation, and when the DB was to his inside shoulder, he would go to the outside. His deep understanding of coverages should be an asset in the NFL.

“Some guys got it and some don’t. He’s got that factor,” Kill said.

Stowers knew from an early age what it would take to succeed.

His father, Donald Stowers, played college football at New Mexico State and professionally for the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe, and his mother, Tina, walked onto Baylor’s volleyball team and later played 12 years of beach volleyball.

His parents helped shape both his athletic gifts—reflected in a 4.51 40-yard dash and a 45.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine—and the intangibles his former coaches rave about.

“He’s a guy that was never late,” Kill said. “He leads by example. He studies film and works hard in the video room. He’s gonna be a guy that’s not gonna ever talk back to a coach. He’s a person that takes the game seriously.”

“When you talk about separators and things that everybody doesn’t possess, I think he has them,” former New Mexico State assistant coach Isaiah Washington added. “He’s going to be a great one.”

Stowers was Vanderbilt’s best player. That won’t be the case during his rookie season with the Eagles. He could be the fourth option in the passing game behind veteran wide receiver DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert and first-round rookie Makai Lemon.

While his involvement in the passing game should increase throughout the season, some draft analysts are concerned that Stowers’ struggles as a blocker could limit his impact. He’s 6-3, 239 pounds, which is light for the position.

“He can get a tie,” Kill said when asked about that concern. “And that’s all you got to do in the league. You don’t have to blow somebody off the ball. Just get a tie.”

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Tina Stowers has noticed those criticisms and believes it will fuel her son: “Nothing gets under (Eli’s) skin more than somebody saying he’s not doing this right or well, or he can’t do this. That is a huge motivator for him. He will get out there and prove everybody wrong.”

Three years ago, Stowers’ dream of being a quarterback ended, but he found a new path at tight end— one that made him a top prospect. The Eagles are betting it’s only the beginning.

“To get that phone call, it all kind of just came full circle. I was just super happy for him,” Tina Stowers said.

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