After landing USC WR Makai Lemon in Round 1, the Philadelphia Eagles made two picks — Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers and Miami OT Markel Bell — and acquired a starting edge defender in Jonathan Greenard on Day 2. Let's grade each move.

Pick 54: Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt

Stowers was a high school quarterback who moved to tight end in college. He originally enrolled at Texas A&M as a quarterback, transferred to New Mexico where he transitioned to tight end, and then to Vanderbilt. His career stats: 

The game that sort of put Stowers on the map as a potential highly drafted prospect was in 2024, when Vanderbilt upset Alabama in a game that Stowers had 6 catches for 113 yards.

Vanderbilt lined up Stowers all over the place, trying to create mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs. Once he has the ball in his hands, Stowers can get yards after the catch using his speed, or by dragging DBs. Highlight reel:

But what Stowers is really known for is the absolute show he put on at the NFL Combine, where he broke records for his vertical leap (45 1/2") and broad jump (135"). He also ran a 4.51 40. He is a little undersized at 6'4, 239, but he is an elite athlete. 

"The guy is super talented," Nick Sirianni said. "Athletically, he can do some things that nobody else can do. Just to be able to create mismatches with him on third downs, and first-and second-down situations, he is a tough cover. Catches everything, good after the catch, speed, quickness, and so we’re really excited to have him."

The downside is that Stowers is probably more of a big receiver at this point. He will have to become a better blocker to become a more well-rounded tight end in the NFL, which Sirianni acknowledged.

"He has to continue to develop as a blocker but we’re really excited about that," Sirianni said. "Again, when you haven’t had a ton of reps at it – I mean, he’s had reps at it – but continuing to develop with that."

Value

Stowers was Daniel Jeremiah's 66th ranked prospect. Dane Brugler had him 63rd. Mel Kiper had him 52nd. At pick 54, Stowers could be viewed as a slight reach, at least based on draft expert consensus.

The Eagles didn't draft a tight end last year, which was unexpected, but they also didn't even sign any undrafted tight ends after the draft concluded. That was puzzling. This year, Stowers was the second tight end to get selected after Kenyon Sadiq, who the Jets picked in Round 1.

Thereafter, there was a run on tight ends on Day 2:

1. Pick 56: Nate Boerkircher (Texas A&M) to the Jaguars
2. Pick 59: Marlin Klein (Michigan) to the Texans
3. Pick 61: Max Klare (Ohio State) to the Rams
4. Pick 69: Sam Roush (Stanford) to the Bears
5. Pick 73: Oscar Delp (Georgia) to the Saints
6. Pick 87: Will Kacmarek (Ohio State) to the Dolphins
7. Pick 95: Eli Raridon (Notre Dame) to the Patriots

I could maybe make an argument for Oscar Delp at the Eagles' 68th overall pick, but if I'm looking at that list of tight ends, I'd take Stowers at 54 over all of the values above because of the upside he possesses.

Will Stowers contribute as a rookie?

Eagles fans were anticipating that the team could draft an offensive tackle in Round 1 who would have to sit as long as Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata stayed healthy and for as long as Johnson keeps playing. And for the most part, I think they bought in on that.

Well, you may as well go ahead and apply that patience to Stowers at tight end in Round 2. Dallas Goedert will be the TE1 in 2026, and tight end is a position that typically takes a few years for players to develop. Stowers' extreme athleticism should be put to use immediately on special teams, but it's unlikely that he'll have any real impact in the regular offense early in his NFL career. It is likely to take some time.

Need

Goedert was available for trade for the better part of the 2025 offseason, before the Eagles finally got him to take a pay cut and return as the team's top tight end. As such, it felt unlikely that he was going to stick around for the 2026 season, but, he's back.

On the plus side, Goedert is still a good receiver, as he had 60 catches for 591 yards, and he broke the franchise tight end record with 11 regular season TDs while playing in a broken offense in 2025. He was a rare bright spot in the Eagles' passing game, at least in the red zone. He also only missed one game due to injury in 2025 after missing 15 games in the previous three seasons combined.

On the downside, in the past Goedert was considered a complete tight end without any obvious flaws, but he was not a good run blocker in 2025. He is also now 31 years old, and tight ends don't typically age well.

So, yes, it was probably past due that the Eagles finally found a tight end who could be Goedert's successor.

Overall

Back in January, we analyzed how the Eagles' draft and financial resource allocation would shift this offseason. Over the last four or so years, they spent heavy financial resources to the offensive side of the ball, and they used the bulk of their draft capital on the defensive side of the ball.

Well, the offense is getting old, and the defense will soon be expensive, so it felt pretty clear that their allocation of resources would flip. Reloading through the draft on the offensive side of the ball would take precedence as the Eagles' star players on defense will soon have to be paid handsomely.

Stowers is a prime example of those reloading efforts. And as long as the Eagles are taking players who might have to sit for a year or so, they may as well take big shots on players with unique traits, like Stowers and his extreme athleticism. B+.

Pick 68: Markel Bell, OT, Miami

Bell is a mammoth offensive tackle at 6'9, 346, with massive 36 3/8" arms. 

He's not a guy opposing edge rushers are going to be able to run through, but logically speaking, he will probably struggle with speed guys at his height and weight, although Howie Roseman might disagree.

"Markel Bell was a passion player for us throughout the process," Roseman said. "Obviously, unusual size, unusual length, hard to find. When you watch the tape, he is hard to get around in pass pro. He had zero sacks allowed this year playing for Miami. This is a 21-year-old player who was the No. 1 junior college recruit coming out. Just watching the tape, this is one of those guys where you say, 'What would happen if he went back to school this year?'

"To have an opportunity to for him to learn from the guys that we have on this roster, and we spent a lot of time with him – we spent time with him here, we spent time with him in Miami – we had a lot of eyes on him. He’s a sponge. High character guy. This was a guy who is hard to find. When you watch him in pass pro and you watch his ability, it’s hard to run through him, it’s hard to run around him. He has good feet for a big guy. Unique guy."

Bell does have better movement skills than you would expect of a 6'9, 346-ound human, as shown below: 

And as Roseman also pointed out, he'll have an opportunity to learn from one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history in Johnson.

"Having guys like Lane on this team and the elite level that he plays with, I think watching him and watching how he works, watching how he trains, watching how he dedicates his life to this game during the week, during the season," Roseman said at the NFL owners meetings in March. "I mean that's instrumental in understanding what it takes to be a great pro. And so there's so much value in watching those guys instead of hearing about those guys.

"I said when we talked about [Jason] Kelce at some point he was going to retire and then there'd be this legend of Jason Kelce, but Cam Jurgens got to see it and he got to see what it took to be a Pro Bowl-level player. There's value like that as long as the player in and of himself is worthy of the selection of wherever you're taking him."

Bell played LT at Miami, but Roseman said that he will train at LT and RT, and that he has experience working on a RT stance. 

Value

Bell was Jeremiah's 92nd ranked prospect. Brugler had him 97th. Kiper had him 99th. In other words, they all had him as a late 3. As noted above, Roseman called him a "passion player." Was he perhaps a "red star" player? Whatever you call him, Roseman made clear that the scouting department really liked him.

Overall

It was anticipated that the Eagles could draft a Lane Johnson successor in Round 1, with the hope that he can develop into a starting-caliber player by the time Johnson retires. Instead, they did it in Round 3. Of course, the odds are lower that a Round 3 player will grow into that than a Round 1 guy would, although Bell could conceivably also move inside to guard if he doesn't pan out at tackle.

Again, the selection of Bell followed the theme of long-term building on offense. B.

TRADE: The Eagles send a pair of third-round picks (pick 98 in 2026, plus a 2027 third-round pick) to the Vikings for Jonathan Greenard and a 2027 seventh-round pick

Greenard is also reportedly signing a four-year deal worth $98 million, so it's not just valuable draft capital that the Eagles are spending on Greenard. It's also significant financial resources.

Greenard was a Texans third-round pick in 2020. He will turn 29 years old in May. He had his two best seasons in 2023 and 2024, when he had a combined 24.5 sacks. His career stats:

"He’s one of six guys who have had 12 or more sacks two of the last three years," Roseman said. "Just a really fun guy to watch, a guy we’ve been studying for a long time."

Greenard battled through a shoulder injury in 2025, which eventually ended his season and required surgery. 

"There wasn’t a game of his that we didn’t watch this year, and what you see is a relentless player with physical tools," Roseman said. "He can win in multiple ways. He is hard to block. I know that when we played Minnesota we were worried about where he is at all times. Just a really good player, a captain on that football team. We felt like we already had a very good D-line, but we really wanted to elevate it to another level."

Overall

If Greenard can return to his 2023/2024 form, he could be worth what the Eagles gave up to get him. If he can't, well, then obviously this will have been an ill-advised trade. #Analysis.

If I can relate this move to the likely trade of A.J. Brown for a moment, one of the arguments against trading Brown is that it will make the team worse in 2026. Obviously, the trade-off is that the Eagles will gain valuable draft capital in 2027 and possibly beyond.

This is the opposite. (Insert Nicolas Cage "YOU DON'T SAY" meme here.)

The Eagles got better as a football team in 2026 with the addition of Greenard, except instead of adding a legit pass rusher at the trade deadline they'll have him for the full year, and beyond. He'll join an edge rusher group that includes Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, and Arnold Ebiketie, which on paper looks pretty good. But certainly, the cost to acquire Greenard was steep. B.

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