Film Profile | Analytical ProfileProspect InformationCollege: VanderbiltHeight/Weight: 6'4"/239Hands: 9 3/4"Age: 23 (at the time of the 2026 season opener)
40-Yard Dash: 4.51Vertical Jump: 45.5"Broad Jump: 11'3"20-Yard Shuttle: N/A3-Cone: N/A
My Tight End Rookie Model evaluates prospects through the traits that historically translate best to fantasy production. The model weighs target earning, market-share production, route efficiency, alignment usage, after-catch ability, ball skills, blocking deployment, athletic translation, age, breakout timing, teammate competition, team context and historical outcome trends.
Stowers stands out as one of the stronger fantasy bets in the 2026 tight end class because he combines high-end athleticism with a real receiving role. He is not a traditional in-line volume blocker masquerading as a fantasy prospect. The model sees a movement-based receiving tight end with strong target earning, useful route efficiency and a deployment profile that is built for pass-game work.
The appeal with Stowers is that he checks several of the fantasy-friendly boxes at once. He was used heavily in the slot, earned targets at a strong rate and paired that with one of the better athletic profiles in the class. That gives him a clear path to NFL receiving utility if the landing spot leans into that role.
BMI: 29.1Speed Score: 115.5Burst Score: 45.3Agility Score: 0.68Composite Athleticism Score: 1.74Historical Athleticism Percentile: 98th
The Composite Athleticism Score blends size-adjusted speed, burst, agility and model-derived translation when full testing is unavailable. The percentile compares Stowers to historical tight end prospects in the database.
Stowers projects as an elite athlete in this model. He may not have Kenyon Sadiq’s pure explosion score, but he still profiles as one of the most athletic tight ends in the class, which matters when it is paired with real receiving usage.
Yards per Route Run: 2.40Yards per Target: 8.93Touchdowns per Target: 5.5%First Downs per Route: 0.127Targets per Route: 0.269
Stowers' receiving efficiency profile is one of the best in the tight end group. His yards per route run and targets per route both point to a player who was doing more than just benefiting from scheme touches. He earned volume and turned it into useful per-route production.
Average Depth of Target: 7.7Catch Rate: 73.3%Contested Catch Rate: 41.0%Contested Target Rate: 20.5%Drop Rate: 4.2%Yards After Catch per Reception: 6.5Inline Rate: 21.9%Slot Rate: 69.9%Wide Rate: 6.9%Pass Block Rate: 2.4%
Stowers' role was clearly built around the passing game. Nearly 70% of his weighted alignment usage came from the slot, while his inline rate stayed low and his pass-blocking burden was minimal. That is the exact type of role fantasy managers want to see at tight end because it points to route volume and target opportunity rather than blocking-based deployment.
2025Games: 13Targets: 73Receptions: 54Receiving Yards: 659Receiving Touchdowns: 4Routes Run: 271Yards per Game: 52.9Touchdowns per Game: 0.32
Target Share: 21.9%Reception Share: 23.0%Yard Share: 21.5%TD Share: 15.8%Dominator Rating: 18.6%Yards per Team Pass Attempt: 1.82
Stowers' production profile is much easier to buy than a typical tight end with detached usage. He was not just an athlete floating around the formation. He handled a meaningful share of Vanderbilt's passing offense and paired that with efficient receiving output.
Stowers' targets per route and market-share profile support a tight end who was actively earning involvement in the passing game.
His slot-heavy deployment creates one of the cleaner paths to NFL receiving relevance in this tight end class.
The model sees Stowers as one of the best athletes at the position in this class, which boosts both his ceiling and his pathway to useful receiving deployment.
The TD profile is fine, but it is not carrying the projection the way it does for some of the stronger red-zone-oriented prospects.
Stowers wins through receiving usage, not through traditional all-around tight end deployment. That can make his NFL value more landing-spot sensitive.