This may come as a shock, but Philadelphia Eagles fans don’t normally sit around on Saturdays and watch a ton of Vanderbilt Commodores football. That said, when Jordan Matthews was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it took some work (and research) to lay out compelling takes on what he’d bring to the offensive attack.
Fast forward a dozen years to the most recent selection meeting, and the Eagles again raided Vanderbilt’s cupboard. This time, they added a tight end in Round 2, and though Birds fans still don’t rearrange their schedules to watch the Commodores on Saturdays, we seemingly know more about Stowers than we all knew about Matthews upon his arrival.
These two are close, and there’s seemingly a succession plan involving Philadelphia’s rookie tight end. He seems the logical choice to eventually seize the TE1 role from Dallas Goedert. Stowers was a John Mackey Award winner and a Unanimous All-American in 2025. He also won the William V. Campbell Trophy and earned his second consecutive First-Team All-SEC nod.
No one has found reason to criticize the addition. Recently, ESPN’s Matt Bowen praised Stowers’ selection in his take on the best rookie team fits, offering the following as some of his defense.
“With Dallas Goedert returning on a one-year deal, Stowers should be seen as the future No. 1 tight end for Philadelphia. But he should make an impact this season, especially in two-tight-end sets and as a situational matchup target. At 6-foot-4 with a 45½-inch vertical jump (tight end record at the NFL combine), Stowers is built to stretch the seams or isolate as a vertical target when removed from the formation.”
Bowen also mentions that Stowers can “get loose after the catch”, and “that should create more high-percentage throws for quarterback Jalen Hurts.”
Philadelphia’s decision to spend second-round draft capital on Stowers felt especially intentional. It also felt familiar for reasons that seem obvious. Stowers may not begin his career as Philadelphia’s TE1, but the Eagles clearly envision something much larger down the road. If his college production and athletic upside translate quickly, it may not take long before the aforementioned succession plan becomes impossible to ignore.
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