Eli Stowers Shatters Combine Records: Vanderbilt's TE Prospect Skyrockets Up Draft Boards

Eli Stowers Breaks Two NFL Combine Records, Transforms Draft Stock

Eli Stowers didn't just perform at the 2026 NFL Combine — he obliterated the record book. The Vanderbilt tight end posted a 45.5-inch vertical leap and an 11-foot-3 broad jump, setting new Combine records for his position and vaulting himself from Day 3 afterthought to potential second-round pick in the span of 40 yards.

The numbers are staggering. Stowers' vertical leap matched the third-highest mark among all positions since 1999, while his broad jump set the longest measurement in Combine history for tight ends dating back to 2003. He also ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, second-fastest among tight ends at this year's Combine behind Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq (4.39).

Stowers' journey to record-breaking status is almost as remarkable as the numbers themselves. Originally a quarterback at Texas A&M, he transferred to Vanderbilt and found himself in a position battle with Diego Pavia. Rather than transfer again, Stowers reinvented himself as a utility player before committing to tight end full-time. The gamble paid off spectacularly — he won the 2025 John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end, was named first-team All-SEC by multiple outlets, and posted 49 receptions for 638 yards and 5 touchdowns in his breakout season.

His 2025 game film backs up the testing numbers. Against Auburn, Stowers caught 12 passes for 122 yards. He followed that with 9 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against Georgia State. For his Vanderbilt career, he finished with 146 catches for 1,773 yards and 13 touchdowns across stops at Texas A&M, New Mexico State, and Vanderbilt.

The Combine performance has NFL teams scrambling to re-evaluate their draft boards. Where Stowers might have been a third-day pick entering Indianapolis, he's now firmly in Day 2 conversation — potentially the second or third tight end off the board in April's draft.

The timing couldn't be better. With the 2026 NFL Draft set for Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 23-25, Stowers has maximized his exposure window. Teams that might have written him off as a position-switcher now have to consider what a 6-foot-4, 235-pound athlete with sub-4.6 speed and elite explosiveness could mean for their offense.

His former position as quarterback might actually be the secret sauce. "He sees the field like a QB," one scout noted. "That processing speed combined with this kind of athleticism is what you dream about at tight end."

The question now isn't whether Stowers will be drafted — it's how early. One NFL executive compared him to Dallas Goedert, another athletic tight end who slid in the draft only to become a Pro Bowl player. "Sometimes the Combine is where guys separate themselves," the executive said. "Eli Stowers just separated himself from every tight end in this class."

What to watch: Stowers' pro day workout (date TBD) and how teams use him in pre-draft visits. With his testing numbers establishing a new baseline, the next question is whether his route running and blocking have improved enough to match his athleticism.

The former quarterback who couldn't beat out Pavia for the starting job might just end up outplaying every tight end in this draft class. In Indianapolis, Eli Stowers didn't just jump higher than anyone expected — he jumped himself into the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft conversation.