August 26, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Eagles rookie WR Makai Lemon missed half of spring practices and big chunk of training camp with a hamstring injury.
Now that Philadelphia Eagles 2026 training camp and the preseason are just about in the books, let's review the performances of each of the Eagles' drafted rookies throughout the summer.
There's not much to say so far about Lemon, who missed half of the spring, both preseason games, and has at least been limited (no team drills) in 10 training camp practices because of a hamstring injury.
In the limited time we have gotten to see Lemon in practice, he has mostly caught a lot of short stuff near the line of scrimmage, and he has been the player most commonly in motion, pre-snap. It seems like Sean Mannion's vision for Lemon's role is to give Jalen Hurts some layups on some open schemed-up throws. We'll see.
Lemon returned to the practice field as a full participant on Monday for the first time since Aug. 3, and the offensive staff had him immediately working with the first-team offense. If I'm guessing on who the Week 1 WR3 will be alongside DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, it would be Lemon, since the other receivers on the roster haven't made a strong enough case to take that spot away.
(Also, I would expect that Lemon will play a little bit in the Eagles' final preseason game against the Bengals on Friday.)
Stowers was a high school quarterback who moved to tight end in college. He put on a show 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 undersized at 6'4, 239, but he is an elite athlete.
In college, Vanderbilt lined up Stowers all over the place, trying to create mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs. Once he had the ball in his hands, he got yards after the catch using his speed, or by dragging DBs.
So that was the appeal: Elite athlete, high ceiling, some receiving chops.
The downside on Stowers as a prospect was that he was probably more of a big receiver coming out of college, and that he would need to become a much better blocker to become a more well-rounded NFL tight end.
Unfortunately, throughout camp Stowers hasn't shown much to get excited about as a receiver or as a blocker. He has not exhibited the explosive traits that are in his body, he has sometimes looked tentative as a blocker, and he simply hasn't made catches further than, like, 10 yards down the field. The guess here is that Stowers is swimming mentally, trying to learn an offense while acclimating to the speed of the NFL. He's thinking, and not just playing. The hope is that in time he will catch up mentally and begin playing fast.
But for now, Stowers is unplayable, and likely to be a gameday inactive. He is also currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury.
I've been asked if Stowers could potentially be a "redshirt" IR candidate, but I don't see that. The team used a valuable second-round draft resource on him, so they're going to want to give him every opportunity to get better during the season. If he's on IR, he won't be able to practice with the team.
Maybe the light will come on for Stowers at some point during the season, but I think the more realistic hope is that he's a positive contributor in 2027 and beyond.
Bell has had the most encouraging camp of all Eagles rookies, by far. To begin, he has worked both at LT and RT, and looked perfectly comfortable at both spots. In college at Miami, he played exclusively at LT in games, though Miami OL coach Alex Mirabal cross-trained him on both sides in practices. In Philly, the hope is that Bell can become the successor at RT to Lane Johnson, who said that the 2026 season will likely be his last.
In the past (cough, Andre Dillard, cough), we have seen offensive tackles who could not play both sides, so for Bell to wipe away that concern right off the bat is kind of a big deal.
In pass protection, Bell is 6'9 1/4" with 36 3/8" arms, and an 87 1/8" wingspan.
Combine that elite length with surprisingly nimble feet for a man his size, and it's hard to get around him. Pass pro was always likely to be a strength. But I've been equally encouraged by what I have seen from Bell's power in the run game. For example, here (he's No. 72, at RT):
And here:
And here:
And here:
Of course, that's all against Patriots backups, but it's encouraging to see him tossing them around nevertheless.
He has a real chance of being Lane's successor.
Payton has been fun to watch this summer, simply because he is not afraid to let it rip down the field. On the positive side, Payton throws with good touch, particularly to the intermediate parts of the field, and he can make plays with his legs. On the negative side, he takes way too many chances with the ball, often throwing to double- and sometimes even triple-covered receivers. That has to drive the risk-averse Nick Sirianni bonkers.
Though flawed, Payton has shown enough talent to stick on the 53-man roster. He is not Clayton Thorson or Kyle McCord, who showed very little in past camps, but also didn't didn't have athletic upside.
However, I will say that if Jalen Hurts or (fill in whoever the QB2 is) were to get hurt and miss any kind of extended time, I believe the Eagles would make a move for a veteran quarterback, because there's no way Sirianni wants Payton on the field this season.
Morris missed a couple of practices and was a limited participant in two others early in camp, but he recovered and has put together a nice camp. The Eagles drafted Morris because of his blend of size and raw athleticism.
However, he was only available in the sixth round because his technique needed a lot of work.
Throughout camp and the preseason games, Morris has not looked lost. He has held his own, and looked to me like a legitimate NFL lineman. He certainly looks a lot better than Cameron Williams and Myles Hinton did last year, for example. Morris isn't likely to get much playing time this season, if any, but he is going to make the 53-man roster and the Eagles have to be excited about the potential for his continued development.
Like Lemon above, we have barely seen Wisniewski.
• He missed the entirety of spring practices.
• He was a non-participant in nine practices, and limited in a 10th practice, because of a hamstring injury.
• He didn't play in the first preseason game against the Ravens.
• He only played 20 snaps in the second preseason game against the Patriots, and it was revealed that he likely suffered a concussion in that game.
• He is once again on the shelf, and may not play in the final preseason game. We'll see.
Wisniewski had injury issues in college, notably a torn Achilles that cost him seven games in 2022 and a broken foot that cost him the 2024 season. That's at least partly why he fell to the seventh round of the draft. With these new injuries this summer, Wisniewski feels like a player the Eagles can get through waivers and safely stash on the practice squad.
Early in camp, the native Nigerian Bernard looked a lot like a guy who hadn't ever played football, which makes sense, because, you know, he had never put on shoulder pads before the start of training camp. Early in camp, Bernard was probably the easiest guy on the field to block. He'd pretty much stand straight up at the snap, immediately lose all leverage, and quickly lose the rep.
I think he has looked a lot better in recent practices, and I was impressed with the two run stops he had while two-gapping against the Patriots in the second preseason game. His power is obvious, but the trick for Bernard is whether he can play with more fluidity, because there's a lot stiffness in his movement. Maybe that will come in time.
But certainly, the Eagles knew that this was going to be a very long process, and I believe that Bernard has shown enough improvement over the last month that they will be emboldened to continue this project a while longer. I expect Bernard to make the 53-man roster.
Like Lemon and Wisniewski above, there's not much to say about James-Newby because we haven't really seen him. He has missed all of or at least part of 11 practices, and he didn't appear in either preseason game. Like Wisniewski, the Eagles can likely stash James-Newby on the practice squad.
Bonus: Undrafted EDGE Joshua Weru: Weru is the other African "exchange dude," as Vic Fangio called them. Like Bernard, Weru played in his first ever football game a couple weeks ago in Baltimore. His movement skills are more advanced than Bernard's at this stage of their respective developments, and he has shown enough intriguing raw athleticism that I believe he would get claimed by another team if the Eagles waived him. I think the Eagles have to keep him on their 53.
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