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Vanderbilt Commodores tight end Eli Stowers has forced our hand.
The football world had Stowers in his bucket. We've seen athletic tight ends before, blurring the line between receiver and tight end. We've been caught in the allure of creating mismatches and have properly recalibrated our expectations as their defensive counterparts have adjusted.
Stowers entered the NFL Scouting Combine as a mid-round prospect. Then he tied the Combine record in the vertical jump.
It would be hyperbolic to suggest that Stowers fundamentally changed his projection with his Combine performance, but after proving that he was a truly elite athlete, he deserves a second look.
Top athletic comparisons for Eli Stowers
Stowers made history in Indianapolis with his 45.5-inch vertical jump, matching only star edge rusher Cameron Wake.
The jump came moments after Kenyon Sadiq matched the record for tight ends (43.5 inches) and thrust him into a similar tier of athletic prowess. Maybe the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium was friendly. Perhaps the new-age training regimens and manicured pre-draft processes make the feat less impressive.
In either event, Stowers is still grading out as one of the most athletic tight ends ever. He measured in at 6036 and 239 pounds with 32.625-inch arms and 9.625-inch hands. His 40-yard dash could quite catch Sadiq, posting a 4.51-second time to Sadiq's 4.39. Stowers' broad jump was as impressive as his vertical, an 11'3" mark that underscores his explosiveness.
One of the top comparisons for Stowers is actually the player comp I jotted down back before the season -- Evan Engram.
Engram is among the most prominent tight end/receiver hybrids in recent memory, running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash with a 93rd-percentile broad jump to boot. He represents a similar path for Stowers, running routes on 90% of passing plays with a heavy dosage of slot reps and the occasional flex out wide.
Engram is a pseudo receiver whose size-adjusted athleticism defines his profile. Stowers plays similarly, bursting down the seam and making the most of shorter targets, albeit with the same limitations.
Stowers is a well-below-average blocker who won't be asked to do it at the next level. That demands he excels as a receiver because he is one in every way but his positional tag.
Another strong comparison is Zach Miller, whose 9.45 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) is just 0.01 behind Stowers.
MORE: Top athletic comparisons for Kenyon Sadiq after the NFL Combine
Miller (6036, 233, 4.53 seconds) may have been a bit ahead of his time, and his athleticism never translated to a ton of production. He was stuck at the second or third tight end on a handful of teams and topped out at 486 yards (2016) and five scores (2015).
Therein lies a floor projection for Stowers. There's a world in which Stowers doesn't set the world on fire with his receiving capacity. How many teams would take him over their starting slot receiver? Defenses have never been more prepared for these kinds of tight ends. As such, Stowers could be a second tight end who is only seeing the field in obvious passing downs and particular 12-personnel scenarios.
Finally, Mike Gesicki (6054, 247, 4.54 seconds) would likely represent a slight right-tailed outcome for Stowers. He's a bit bigger than Stowers, but his mismatch potentially is forged similarly: high-end speed and unique vertical skills.
Gesicki has found two seasons with at least 700 yards, three with at least five scores, and has continued to assert himself as an ancillary option for decent passing attacks. His size plays in a red zone, and when given the opportunity, that speed translates to explosive plays.
Stowers' fate isn't sealed, but it can be complicated. Despite all the athletic tools, it's hard to see him getting enough playing time to be the primary option of any passing offense. That limits his draft stock, keeping him somewhere in the mid-Day 2 conversation, with room to fall to early Day 3.
The days of fawning over raw athleticism are over. Still, Stowers' skill set is useful, and with some of the class's best athleticism, some team is bound to fall in love.
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