Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers appeared on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday and revealed that he has a top-30 pre-draft visit with the Denver Broncos. The team had a formal interview with him at the NFL Scouting Combine, but now, they will have the athletic tight end in for a visit before the draft.
A top-30 visit is a pre-draft process in which each team may invite up to 30 draft-eligible prospects to its facility for interviews, medical evaluations, and film study. This doesn’t mean the Broncos will or will not draft a player; it’s part of the draft process and offers a potential look at the positions they are showing interest in.
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Stowers is a 6-4, 239 tight end prospect who is a bit polarizing. Some love his potential as a playmaker due to his 4.5 speed and 45-inch vertical, while others want nothing to do with him because he cannot block and is just a big, slow wide receiver.
For the Broncos, I could see why they would have interest in Eli Stowers. One, Sean Payton has been looking for his ‘Joker’ at tight end, and if Evan Engram fits that mold, then Eli Stowers does as well. Much like Stowers, Engram is a pass-catching first tight end who offers very little as a blocker. He is also in the final year of his contract, and drafting a talent like Stowers would make sense. It would also give quarterback Bo Nix another big and athletic target that he could target in the middle of the field and in the red zone.
The Broncos do not pick until the back end of the second round, so there’s a real shot that Stowers will be off the board long before the Broncos pick. However, if he’s on the board, I could see Payton pulling the trigger and hopefully, finally finding his pass-catching tight end threat he has been looking for.
With that said, I don’t think it’s Stowers or bust because this is a good tight end draft. While most do not offer the pass-catching upside that Stowers does, there are more traditional tight end prospects who can help out in the run game and as a pass catcher.
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After the Broncos re-signed Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull, they have the same tight end room that they had last season. Both Adkins and Krull signed one-year vet minimum deals, so their roster spots are far from secure, and I anticipate the Broncos drafting a tight end at some point during the 2026 NFL Draft.
Could they pull the trigger on Eli Stowers in the second round?