Stowers is going to IR

The Eagles are placing rookie tight end Eli Stowers on injured reserve. He showed up on the injury report this week with a hamstring issue and was listed as questionable.

“Eli Stowers is having a less than ideal start to his NFL career.”

A quarterback who changed positions

Stowers played quarterback in high school and moved to tight end in college, so he is still fairly new to the job he was drafted to do.

The combine was a show

He broke combine records with a 45 1/2 inch vertical and a 135 inch broad jump, then ran a 4.51 in the 40.

“He put on a show at the NFL Combine”

Undersized but explosive

At 6'4 and 239 pounds he is light for the position. The athleticism is supposed to make up for the frame.

“He is undersized at 6'4, 239, but he is an elite athlete.”

Vanderbilt moved him around

Vanderbilt lined him up all over the formation to hunt mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs, then let him work after the catch with speed or by dragging DBs.

The draft-day bet

Elite athlete, high ceiling, real receiving ability. The knock was that he looked more like a big receiver and needed to get much better as a blocker.

“So that was the appeal: Elite athlete, high ceiling, some receiving chops.”

Camp was a letdown

None of the explosiveness showed up. He looked tentative blocking and basically did not make catches more than about 10 yards downfield.

“He did not exhibit the explosive traits that are in his body”

Thinking instead of playing

The likely cause is mental overload, learning a new offense while adjusting to NFL speed. The hope is he catches up and starts playing fast.

“He's thinking, and not just playing.”

He was not playing anyway

Even healthy, Stowers was a likely gameday inactive, so IR costs the Eagles little. He misses at least four games, and the Zach Ertz question looms after Week 1.

“It'll be interesting to see if the Eagles sign Zach Ertz after Week 1.”