The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, who will be battling it out for a spot in the 2026 postseason after the former made some huge offseason improvements, were both thought to have crushed it in the 2026 NFL Draft. Whichever team is shown to have a stronger rookie class may be the one that sets itself apart in the NFC East.
Dallas' top rookies have wasted no time making their presence known, as No. 11 pick Caleb Downs has been making some hard hits and No. 23 pick Malachi Lawrence is already beating starting left tackle Tyler Guyton for sacks.
For the Eagles, No. 20 pick Makai Lemon is already working through an injury just days after their pass-catching room lost A.J. Brown via trade.
Meanwhile, second-round pick Eli Stowers was supposed to be their Dallas Goedert replacement, but he hasn't gotten off to the best start.
Even with tight end Grant Calcaterra, who is far from Jason Witten as a player, missing some time, Stowers failed to take advantage of this opportunity. Stowers was deemed "invisible" by Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation, continuing what ha been a "quiet spring" for the Vanderbilt product.
Dallas Cowboys can laugh as Eagles rookie Eli Stowers struggles at OTAs
Stowers had some freaky testing numbers at the NFL Combine, but the number of tight ends who last in this league while weighing under 240 pounds is quite small. Stowers may be viewed as a hybrid tight end for some, but there's a good chance he is half a receiver, half a tight end, and a very raw player that will take years to get on track.
Dallas managed to perform fairly well against Philadelphia last season, beating them once and holding them to a maximum of 24 points in their two encounters. That came with Matt Eberflus leading the defensive charge against a team that had Brown on the outside! Dallas might be licking their lips in anticipation of their 2026 matchups.
The Eagles need to lean on a rookie in Lemon and a player in Devonta Smith, who has never been an unquestioned No. 1 receiver in his career, all while trying to get Jalen Hurts to bounce back in a new offense. Dallas, meanwhile, nabbed highly-regarded Eagles defensive assistant Christian Parker to coordinate a defense that was supplemented with young stars.
Howie Roseman normally drafts well, but if Stowers keeps this up in the regular season, he could join the JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor graveyard of inadequete pass-catchers.
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