‘A dark time’: How Eagles draft pick turned rock bottom into NFL future — at new position

Five years ago, Eli Stowers noticed a concerning lack of power on his throws. Despite displaying the arm strength in high school to become a four-star recruit and land with Texas A&M, Stowers could not push the ball downfield in practice – no matter how hard he tried. Stowers, a college freshman at the time, was ineffective.

And worried. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t throw,” he told his parents over the phone. “My husband and I told him, ‘You’re just nervous.

You’ve played quarterback since you were 7, so you can’t tell me you can’t throw a football,’” Eli’s mother, Tina Stowers, said. It turned out to be more than nerves. Stowers was playing through a torn labrum and needed surgery.

He underwent the procedure after his freshman season and missed most of his sophomore season while recovering. Stowers didn’t know it at the time, but it was the unlucky break he needed to transform into an NFL prospect and prove that the lowest of times can define you – in good ways. It all paid off last week when the Eagles drafted him with the 54th pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.