OTAs has come and gone for the Philadelphia Eagles as the focus shifts to the month plus long break the team has before training camp gets underway.
There were a lot of standouts from the last three weeks with new cornerback Riq Woolen impressing the media among others. It was great to see some of these new additions rise to the occassion and prove that general manager Howie Roseman was smart to bring them in, but one player was noticably quiet.
Throughout the last three weeks, there really wasn't much mention of rookie second-round pick tight end Eli Stowers at all. Bleeding Green Nation Eagles reporter Brandon Lee Gowton made that note in a recent article on the end of minicamp.
"It’s been a very quiet spring for Eli Stowers. With Calcaterra out today, one would’ve expected more opportunity for the Eagles’ second-round pick. But the rookie tight end was invisible."
Eli Stowers being "invisible is quite a concern early on
Stowers has some big expectations on his shoulders as he will be the eventual replacement of Dallas Goedert when he leaves the franchise most likely after the 2026 season. The rookie showed a ton of promise in college at Vanderbilt last year and at the NFL Combine as he ran the second fastest 40-time among tight ends there with a 4.51.
Really since he joined the Eagles, though, there has not been much press about him. No mentions of highlight plays or how he is progressing in his developing as the second string tight end.
That might be a slight concern since the Eagles are going to be running more 12 personnel in the 2026 season under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Two tight ends plays a major role in that, so most likely Goedert and Stowers will be in there to take care of that.
Read more: NFL writer already knows what Eagles fans should expect from Sean Mannion
The hope is the Eagles will be able to lean on their rookie in the passing game in 2026, but after that OTA performance, the fan base might have to tame their expectations at bit for the time being until he can show otherwise.
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