Film Profile | Analytical Profile Prospect Information College: Vanderbilt Height/Weight: 6'4"/239 Hands: 9 3/4" Age: 23 (at the time of the 2026 season opener) Important NFL Combine/Pro Day Numbers 40-Yard Dash: 4.51 Vertical Jump: 45.5" Broad Jump: 11'3" 20-Yard Shuttle: N/A 3-Cone: N/A Model Overview My Tight End Rookie Model evaluates prospects through the traits that historically translate best to fantasy production. The model weighs target earning, market-share production, route efficiency, alignment usage, after-catch ability, ball skills, blocking deployment, athletic translation, age, breakout timing, teammate competition, team context and historical outcome trends. Stowers stands out as one of the stronger fantasy bets in the 2026 tight end class because he combines high-end athleticism with a real receiving role. He is not a traditional in-line volume blocker masquerading as a fantasy prospect. The model sees a movement-based receiving tight end with strong target earning, useful route efficiency and a deployment profile that is built for pass-game work. The appeal with Stowers is that he checks several of the fantasy-friendly boxes at once. He was used heavily in the slot, earned targets at a strong rate and paired that with one of the better athletic profiles in the class. That gives him a clear path to NFL receiving utility if the landing spot leans into that role. Model Derived Athletic Scores BMI: 29.1 Speed Score: 115.5 Burst Score: 45.3 Agility Score: 0.68 Composite Athleticism Score: 1.74 Historical Athleticism Percentile: 98th Understanding the Athleticism Score The Composite Athleticism Score blends size-adjusted speed, burst, agility and model-derived translation when full testing is unavailable. The percentile compares Stowers to historical tight end prospects in the database. Stowers projects as an elite athlete in this model. He may not have Kenyon Sadiq’s pure explosion score, but he still profiles as one of the most athletic tight ends in the class, which matters when it is paired with real receiving usage. Receiving Efficiency Metrics Yards per Route Run: 2.40 Yards per Target: 8.93 Touchdowns per Target: 5.5% First Downs per Route: 0.127 Targets per Route: 0.269 Stowers' receiving efficiency profile is one of the best in the tight end group. His yards per route run and targets per route both point to a player who was doing more than just benefiting from scheme touches. He earned volume and turned it into useful per-route production. Usage and Alignment Average Depth of Target: 7.7 Catch Rate: 73.3% Contested Catch Rate: 41.0% Contested Target Rate: 20.5% Drop Rate: 4.2% Yards After Catch per Reception: 6.5 Inline Rate: 21.9% Slot Rate: 69.9% Wide Rate: 6.9% Pass Block Rate: 2.4% Stowers' role was clearly built around the passing game. Nearly 70% of his weighted alignment usage came from the slot, while his inline rate stayed low and his pass-blocking burden was minimal. That is the exact type of role fantasy managers want to see at tight end because it points to route volume and target opportunity rather than blocking-based deployment. Production Snapshot 2025 Games: 13 Targets: 73 Receptions: 54 Receiving Yards: 659 Receiving Touchdowns: 4 Routes Run: 271 Yards per Game: 52.9 Touchdowns per Game: 0.32 Target Share: 21.9% Reception Share: 23.0% Yard Share: 21.5% TD Share: 15.8% Dominator Rating: 18.6% Yards per Team Pass Attempt: 1.82 Stowers' production profile is much easier to buy than a typical tight end with detached usage. He was not just an athlete floating around the formation. He handled a meaningful share of Vanderbilt's passing offense and paired that with efficient receiving output. Positive Indicators Excellent target earning Stowers' targets per route and market-share profile support a tight end who was actively earning involvement in the passing game. Big-slot fantasy role His slot-heavy deployment creates one of the cleaner paths to NFL receiving relevance in this tight end class. Elite athletic profile The model sees Stowers as one of the best athletes at the position in this class, which boosts both his ceiling and his pathway to useful receiving deployment. Areas of Concern Lower touchdown share than the top names The TD profile is fine, but it is not carrying the projection the way it does for some of the stronger red-zone-oriented prospects. Less inline projection Stowers wins through receiving usage, not through traditional all-around tight end deployment. That can make his NFL value more landing-spot sensitive. Older breakout profile than Sadiq Stowers is still a strong prospect, but he does not bring the same age-adjusted upside profile as the youngest tight end bets in the class. Historical Model Comps Oronde Gadsden II Jaheim Bell Evan Engram David Njoku Terrance Ferguson This comp cluster reflects receiving-oriented athletes and movement tight ends whose fantasy value is tied to slot usage, route volume and mismatch ability more than classic in-line tight end deployment. Historical Fantasy Tier Outcomes Elite TE: 45.9% TE1: 3.2% TE2: 9.9% Bust: 41.1% These outcomes are exclusive and sum to 100%. The tier breakdown is weighted toward how similar historical tight end profiles eventually translated, with some model influence kept in the mix. Stowers comes in as one of the better receiving bets in the class, but like most tight ends, his path still depends on role and landing spot. Early Career Fantasy Outlook Year 1: TE11—TE17 Year 2—3: TE8—TE14 Stowers projects as an early pass-game contributor with a real chance to develop into a fantasy starter if his NFL team preserves the detached receiving role that made him work in college. Dynasty Translation Stowers profiles as one of the better dynasty tight end bets in the 2026 class. He brings elite athleticism, strong target earning and one of the clearest receiving roles in the tight end group. That combination gives him real fantasy appeal at a position where usage often matters as much as talent. The profile is still somewhat role-sensitive because Stowers is more of a receiving weapon than a traditional all-phase tight end, but that is also what makes him interesting for dynasty. If the landing spot preserves the pass-game role, he has the tools to outperform his draft-slot expectations. This article originally appeared on The Huddle: Eli Stowers Dynasty Rookie Profile, Model Comps & Fantasy Outlook