Rookie camp a reunion for some new Eagles; why Eli Stowers views himself as a tight end, not a receiver
Some former college teammates got reacquainted, and one of the Eagles' newest weapons gave some thoughts on his positional usage.
Micah Morris was a baby-faced 17-year-old when he showed up in Athens, Ga., and went through his first workouts with the Georgia Bulldogs. Scout team reps for one of the top offensive line recruits in the country meant battles with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.
The lessons came quickly.
“The first time I tried to sit down a Jordan Davis bull rush, that’s when I realized this was not high school ball,” Morris said Thursday ahead of a two-day Eagles rookie camp. “My feet were planted, but I was sliding backwards.”
Five years later, there was a reunion of sorts at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on Thursday, when Morris arrived for his first official workout as a member of the Eagles, who selected him in the sixth round of the draft last weekend. His former Georgia teammates were among a handful of veterans still in the building on Thursday.
Morris looks different, he said, especially with the facial hair he wears now compared to when he was 17.
“It’s been a while,” Morris said. “I was much younger then, way younger, but it was good to be back with my brothers.”
Morris has come a long way since then. He struggled to climb the depth chart until his junior season, when he filled in as a spot starter at right guard before holding onto the starting job at left guard for the entire 2025 season.
The Eagles needed interior line depth ahead of the draft, and still may need some after it. Landon Dickerson has battled multiple injuries in recent years and Tyler Steen has one year of starting experience. Behind them and center Cam Jurgens are a group of unproven and inexperienced young interior linemen.
Morris, who doesn’t turn 23 until August, said he was coming in planning to “be a sponge.” The key to getting better without a lot of game reps, he said, is “taking advantage of the practice reps and mental reps. You can’t watch enough film. That’s your game reps in a sense.”
Morris, who may be most known for his weightlifting prowess, has a lot to work on as he gets up to speed in a new Eagles offense. Georgia utilized more inside zone run schemes, but the Eagles are expected to switch to more outside zone. Being at Georgia, Morris said, prepared him for the next level because of the competition in practice — like Davis and Carter — and off-field things like the meeting room and film studies, mental health resources, and nutrition programs.
Waiting his turn in college, he said, “prepared me not only for the NFL, but life in general.”
The two Coles
Another reunion happened Thursday morning at the hotel housing the rookies. Cole Payton and Cole Wisniewski happened to be getting breakfast at the same time, and the former North Dakota State teammates got a chance to catch up.
Wisniewski, a safety who transferred to Texas Tech for his final college season, lauded Payton’s work ethic and discipline, and said the newest Eagles quarterback is “a freak of nature” as an athlete.
Wisniewski, Payton said, is “relentless. He’s a competitor. His football IQ is off the charts. You watch him play, he’s so instinctual. He’s a dude, and a leader, and I think he’ll fit in well here.”
As for Payton’s fit, the Eagles were always going to add a fourth quarterback for training camp. They likely won’t be carrying four onto the 53-man roster, which means something will have to give. It’s possible the Eagles could shop backup quarterback Tanner McKee.
Payton said Jalen Hurts and McKee both sent him messages after the Eagles drafted him in the fifth round last weekend, and he ran into Andy Dalton in the facility Thursday.
Payton has just one full season as a starter. He’s relatively raw as a quarterback prospect, but he’s big — 6-foot-3, 232 pounds — and has made strides as a passer, he said, thanks in part to his recent pre-draft work with quarterback coach Jake Heaps.
While he was biding his time to become the starter at North Dakota State, Payton was used as a running back and tight end and also played on the punt team. The Eagles could find ways to get Payton on the field for some trickery or in another role.
“If that’s what the team wants, if that’s what the team needs, then I’m all for it,” Payton said. “I just love the game of football.”
Wisniewski, meanwhile, played in a version of Vic Fangio’s two-high shell system at both of his college stops. “He’s one of the godfathers” of the system, Wisniewski said. “I’m just really excited to learn the ins and outs and how he operates. … Being able to come to the source is awesome.”
The Eagles have some uncertainty at safety. Drew Mukuba is the lone returning starter, and while the Eagles have veterans including Marcus Epps, Michael Carter II, and J.T. Gray in the building, it’s a position they may still look to upgrade. As of now, Wisniewski has an opportunity to make a good impression.
Stowers on wideout talk: “I play tight end”
Is Eli Stowers a tight end or a wide receiver? The Vanderbilt tight end the Eagles selected in the second round is a former quarterback who transitioned to tight end after injuries. Because of his athleticism, his use in the slot, and his relative newness to the tight end position, some think Stowers projects more as a big receiver than a tight end. He was a wide receiver at New Mexico State before moving to the SEC.
“I’m thankful that I’m viewed that way because I feel like it shows that people think I’m explosive enough to view me as a receiver, but the fact of the matter is that I play tight end and I want to be used in the offense that way and whatever they ask me to do,” said Stowers, who is 6-4, 239 pounds and ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash.
Stowers’ knock right now is his blocking ability, something he said he’s still building on. He’s beginning the process of learning his new offense and all of the different things that come with it.
He’s not alone. He had lunch with first-round pick Makai Lemon on Thursday. The two newest offensive weapons for the Eagles are in the same boat as the whole team in learning a new system under new coordinator Sean Mannion.
“I know that he’s going to be really good for this program,” Stowers said of his early impressions of Mannion. “He’s a really smart mind. I can tell it’s going to be a really good scheme and that we’re going to be able to make some really good plays, and our offense is going to be powerful because of him.”
