Why Undrafted?: Diego Pavia

Why Undrafted?: Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”

Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.

Pavia became a legend with Vanderbilt over the past couple of seasons, leading the program into relevance with some shocking upsets and impressive wins. In 2024, Pavia completed 59 percent for 2,293 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He followed it up with a similar season as a senior, completing 71 percent of his passes for 3,539 yards with 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions. After being a Heisman finalist, many thought Pavia would be a mid-round or late-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, he slipped into the undrafted ranks.

Team sources say the skill set limitations were the biggest reason that caused Pavia to slide. Checking in just under 5-foot-9, Pavia is extremely short to be a pro quarterback, and that height issue was too much to overcome.

After going undrafted, Pavia signed a camp tryout contract with the Baltimore Ravens, and that was a great spot for Pavia to sign. The Ravens only have two quarterbacks on their roster right now, with veteran starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley. NFL teams want to bring at least three, if not four, quarterbacks to training camp, so Pavia has a great opportunity to get to training camp with the Ravens. Pavia could make the Baltimore roster as the third quarterback, and it would make sense for the Ravens to carry three quarterbacks, given the injury history and style of play of Jackson and Huntley. While going undrafted is not a fun feeling for any player, Pavia and his representatives picked a great spot for him to compete and attempt to stick in the NFL as a backup quarterback.