New Diego Pavia Rumors on Potential Landing Spot amid Concerns of Slide Out of 2026 NFL Draft

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to go at some point in the 2026 NFL draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Carolina Panthers brought the Heisman Trophy runner-up in for a visit earlier this month, and Schefter reported Monday that "others are doing their own work on him."

Pavia is the No. 252 overall player and 10th-ranked quarterback on Bleacher Report's final big board.

Pavia was one of the signature stars from the 2025 college football season. He threw for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns while running for 862 yards and 10 scores.

The Commodores also won 10 games for the first time ever and nearly made the College Football Playoff.

Suffice it to say, there are a lot of questions about how Pavia's game translates from college to the pros.

At 5'10", he's undersized for the position and lacks the raw tools to make up for that. B/R NFL scout Dame Parson wrote that Pavia has "spotty decision-making" and "still struggles to read defenses post-snap."

One AFC quarterbacks coach described Pavia as "tough, competitive, gamer" in an interview with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero but pointed to the height concerns.

"The size is hard to get past. He's small. I'd hate to say that's the thing that keeps him from it, because there's been guys that have done it. But it's real," the coach said. "Can he overcome it? He might be able to. The kid goes through progressions pretty well. You can tell he operates fast and gets the ball out of his hands in a timely fashion. I wouldn't write him off because of the size. But I think he's going to be behind the 8-ball."

Pavia's confidence can be a double-edged sword as well.

"One thing about me is I don't care what people think about me," he told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Any quarterback needs self-belief in order to thrive in the NFL, but Pavia notably got himself into hot water with his "F-All the voters" remark after the Heisman Trophy ceremony, which he subsequently apologized for.

Pelissero cited one AFC scouting director who wonders whether Pavia will handle the life of an NFL backup.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, but he's coming to take someone's job and it's going to be kind of an interesting dynamic wherever he goes," they said. "Because you know the fans are going to be calling for him wherever he goes."

A scouting director from an NFC team bluntly told Pelissero that "the whole schtick gets old" with Pavia.

"Little bit of Johnny Football — it's more lore and college bulls--t than it is really true mystique or allure or whatever. I just don't think he's overly talented. He'll bounce around on a couple teams, just because he's competitive. I think he's smart and he'll learn it and all that stuff. But you've got a runaround, RPO, college quarterback with an average arm."

It's easy to see why a team would take a flier on Pavia on Day 3 of the draft. Maybe you strike gold, and the opportunity cost isn't that high when we're talking a sixth- or seventh-round pick.

For Pavia, going undrafted wouldn't be the worst thing, though. In that scenario, he'd have more control over where he starts his pro career and could wind up in a more advantageous situation.