Who Should I Start? AJ Barner or Eli Stowers

Saturday, July 4, 5:13 AM

Philadelphia Eagles rookie tight end Eli Stowers will be a piece of the puzzle in replacing A.J. Brown's team-leading 120 targets from a season ago. How big a piece remains to be seen, but indications ahead of this month's training camp suggest that the second-round pick out of Vanderbilt remains clearly behind Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt as the third tight end on the depth chart. Goedert led the Eagles with 11 touchdowns in 2025, while Mundt was signed to a one-year deal this offseason for what he provides as a blocker, an area of Stowers' game that will need to see notable improvement before he can earn anything close to a full-time role. At 6'3" and 239 pounds, Stowers is likely to work primarily as a jumbo slot as a rookie, but with an apparent leg injury limiting him for parts of minicamp, he still has a ways to go before fantasy managers should expect consistent contributions. Still entirely capable of developing into the top pass-catching tight end in a deep rookie class, Stowers is a wise dynasty investment with plenty of room for long-term growth, but as RotoBaller's TE37, he is unlikely to factor into drafts for 2026 redraft leagues.