Eagles rookie from 2026 NFL Draft class who will make biggest impact in Year 1

After making move after move after move in the lead-up to – and even during – the 2026 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles came away with eight new players, plus two more, Dontayvion Wicks and Jonathan Greenard, via trade, which Howie Roseman insists should be included in their haul.

The Eagles traded up in Round 1 to add one of the most dynamic players in this year’s class, Makai Lemon, even if they had to send two fourth-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys to get the deal done, added two more offensive players on Day 2 in Eli Stowers and Markell Bell, and finished out the weekend with five more selections on Day 3, including quarterback Cole Payton, guard Micah Morris, safety Cole Wisniewski, edge Keyshawn James-Newby, and Uar Bernard, the Nigerian athlete who has never played football before.

With a number of other quality performers added in undrafted free agency, with this year’s class headlined by Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson, the Eagles really did find a way to have their cake and eat it too, with as many players who should contribute now, one way or another, as they have long-term players with eventual on-field potential.

While it’s unlikely a player like Bell, Bernard – especially Bernard – or even Morris will see the field in 2026 unless something goes really bad, which players have the potential to make the biggest impact for the Eagles this fall? Will one of their top selections immediately hit the ground running and live up to the expectations many predicted during the pre-draft process? Or will a player emerge from the later rounds and become a certified star like Jason Kelce, Harold Carmichael, or other Eagles legends? The truth may fall somewhere in the middle.

Eli Stowers has the potential to become a Day 1 star for the Eagles

When it comes to Day 1 contributors for the Eagles in 2026, it’s really a two-player field: Lemon or Stowers. Sure, Morris is a dark horse to become a long-term starter at guard if Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, or Tyler Steen are unable to make it to Week 1 at 100 percent. Wisniewski could start at safety if Howie Roseman does add another player to the roster, and there’s a 10 percent chance Payton becomes the second coming of Taysom Hill, but Stowers and Lemon? Those two are going to be TE2 and WR3 at minimum in Week 1, with the potential to grow their roles even bigger as they show what they can do.

Assuming AJ Brown is traded, to the New England Patriots or otherwise, the Eagles will likely start off Lemon in the slot, with DeVonta Smith remaining a lethal weapon as a flanker, and Wicks taking over the X receiver spot, where he will be tasked with beating press and making plays down the field. Granted, in 2026, slot receivers can get targeted 100 times, as has been the case for Amon-Ra St. Brown and CeeDee Lamb, but it’s unlikely the Eagles will rely on Lemon the same way, say, the Tennessee Titans will count on No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate.

And as for Stowers? All he has to do is beat out a 31-year-old Dallas Goedert, who turned in the worst season of his NFL career last year in terms of yards per reception.

Once celebrated as a true do-it-all tight end with an ability to pick up as many yards before catch as after, Goedert saw his YAC number drop to a career low as well in 2025 in terms of per-reception average, falling to just 3.9 after hitting 6.1 in 2025. This, when coupled with his massive regression as a blocker, is a big reason why the Eagles took so long to bring Goedert back in 2026 and why no meaningful market emerged for his services in free agency despite a very impressive pedigree.

While Stowers famously isn’t a great blocker, he is one of the best pass-catching tight ends in this year’s class, with 4.51 speed, a near-80-inch wingspan, and the sort of football intelligence that one only possesses by coming up as a former quarterback. Stowers can deploy all over the Eagles’ offense, from the slot to inline, as an H-back, or even out wide as a mismatch wide receiver, and should quickly become a favorite of Sean Mannion, who helped to coordinate a very creative offense in 2025.

Working under Matt LaFleur in 2025, the Packers had six players who were targeted at least 44 times, with three tight ends recording at least 30 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. With six tight ends under contract plus Stowers, who is still unsigned, the Eagles are absolutely loaded at the tight end position, which will allow their rookie second-round pick to play when and where Mannion wants to optimize his skills, instead of being forced to do it all from Day 1 with the fear of benching ever-present.

If Stowers can prove doubters wrong and block well enough to see the field regardless of down and distance, then his playmaking abilities with the ball in his hand might just be enough to make him an instant favorite of Jalen Hurts, Mannion, and fans all over the City of Brotherly Love. And if not? Well, Stowers will be a regular part of the Eagles’ offense all the same, where he will be competing for those middle-of-the-field balls and trick plays with Lemon as both look to find their places in the offense. Considering the Eagles’ lack of playmakers in 2025, that is a good problem to have.

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