Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia became the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since 2014 when he did not hear his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft, which concluded Saturday.
Pavia will now try to become the third quarterback on the Baltimore Ravens‘ roster.
“Vanderbilt undrafted free agent QB Diego Pavia accepted an invitation to next weekend’s minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday afternoon.
The Ravens currently have two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and longtime backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley in their quarterback room. Whether in Baltimore or elsewhere, Pavia would enter the NFL as a clear-cut backup QB, which may be one reason he fell out of the draft entirely.
“I talked to coaches and executives who said they asked him that: ‘What would it be like, for the first time in your life, if you’re coming in as a backup quarterback?'” Tom Pelissero reported on NFL Network on Saturday. “Pavia’s answer was basically like, ‘I’m not coming in as a backup quarterback. I’m coming to take somebody’s job.'”
“You like that answer,” Pelissero added. “You like the guts on that guy, the charisma that he brings to the table. There’s other things — the larger-than-life personality. [You] have to get comfortable with the idea of Diego Pavia being a backup quarterback. In his mind, he’s a starter. He’s gonna be an NFL starter.”
Pavia was Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons.
In 2024, Pavia won the SEC Newcomer of the Year as a dual-threat QB. He threw for 2,293 yards, 20 touchdowns, and four interceptions on 59.4% completion, while rushing for 801 yards and eight touchdowns. Vanderbilt finished the regular season at 6-6 and beat Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl.
Last season, Pavia still posed a threat as a rusher — posting 862 yards and 10 touchdowns on 167 attempts — but improved as a passer. He threw for 3,539 yards and an SEC-most 29 touchdowns against eight interceptions on an SEC-high 70.6% completion. Vanderbilt finished the regular season at 10-2 and lost to Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Pavia finished as the 2025 Heisman runner-up to quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who led the Indiana Hoosiers to their first-ever national championship before going No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night.
After Mendoza won the Heisman last December, Pavia posted “[Expletive] ALL THE VOTERS” and later apologized.
“As a competitor, just like in everything I do, I wanted to win,” Pavia wrote in a lengthy X post. “To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to.”
After congratulating Mendoza and sharing “nothing but respect” for fellow finalists Jeremiyah Love and Julian Sayin, Pavia added, “I’ve been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey, I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because I’ve learned that nothing would be handed to me.”
We’ll see how Pavia responds to being doubted by 32 NFL teams.
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