Eli Stowers is a tight end and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who won the John Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end and the William V. Campbell Trophy as college football's top scholar-athlete in his final collegiate season at Vanderbilt University. A native of Denton, Texas, Stowers was a four-star quarterback recruit from Denton Guyer High School who committed to Texas A&M, where he appeared in five games as a backup passer over two seasons. He transferred to New Mexico State in 2023 and fully converted to tight end, recording 35 receptions for 366 yards and two touchdowns while also contributing as a runner and earning honorable mention All-Conference USA recognition. He followed offensive coordinator Tim Beck to Vanderbilt for the 2024 season, earning first-team All-SEC honors with 49 receptions for 638 yards and five touchdowns. In 2025, Stowers led all FBS tight ends in receiving yards with 62 catches for 769 yards and four touchdowns, earning first-team All-America recognition from multiple outlets and cementing himself as a consensus Day 2 prospect.
Measured at approximately 6 feet 4 inches and 239 pounds, Stowers is a highly athletic tight end whose background as a former quarterback manifests in his exceptional feel for reading coverage and locating soft spots in zone defenses. He is a natural hands-catcher with elite top-end speed for the position, having posted a sub-4.55 40-yard dash and a 45.5-inch vertical at pre-draft testing, and he creates genuine problems for linebackers and safeties on seam routes and in the intermediate game. The concerns in his evaluation center on his blocking, as he has spent fewer than three full seasons at the position and struggles to anchor and play with physicality on the line of scrimmage. His best fit projects as a pass-catching mismatch piece in an offense that uses tight ends as big slot receivers, and his rare athleticism, production, and football intelligence have positioned him as one of the more intriguing Day 2 talents in the 2026 class.
