Scouting Report: The consensus board loves Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers; but do I?

Sitting as a second round pick on the consensus board, let's talk about Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers

We are now just five weeks away from the 2026 NFL Draft, so it’s time to spit out some more scouting reports between now and then. Today, we touch on Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers.

It has been quite an accomplished season for the Vanderbilt tight end, winning the Mackey Award for college football’s best tight end (amassing 769 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 62 catches), then setting an NFL Combine record in the vertical jump with a leap of an astounding 45.5 inches.

He currently sits as the 63rd overall player on the consensus board, projecting as a second round pick. However, do the tape and the skillset on the field match that projection?

That’s what we seek to find out here in this scouting report on Stowers.

Positional Rankings: Kenyon Sadiq headlines a bottom-heavy class of tight ends

Measurables, Testing Numbers, and Injury History of Eli Stowers

Measurables

Height: 6036

Weight: 239 pounds

Arm Length: 3268

Hand Size: 968

Testing Numbers

40-yard Dash: 4.51 seconds

10-yard Split: 1.59 seconds

Vertical Jump: 45.5 inches

Broad Jump: 11-foot-3

3-Cone: n/a

Short Shuttle: n/a

Bench Press: n/a

This section will be updated if Stowers completes more testing drills at his pro day.

Injury History

Stowers suffered a torn PCL and meniscus in his left knee in high school.

While a quarterback at Texas A&M at the start of his college career, Stowers suffered a torn labrum in his right arm. He underwent surgery on the shoulder and missed most of the 2022 season.

Missing part of spring ball and summer training, Stowers was sidelined with an undisclosed injury in 2025. However, he played every game of his final season on his way to a Mackey Award despite this injury.