New Diego Pavia Rumors Reveal Interest from NFL Teams After Ravens Minicamp Invite, 2026 Draft

Heisman Trophy finalist and former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia surprisingly went undrafted over the weekend, though the Baltimore Ravens are bringing him in for a rookie minicamp, essentially a tryout.

But other teams are keeping an eye on the situation.

"The Ravens' minicamp is this weekend. There are other teams that have minicamps the next weekend," ESPN's Adam Schefter said Monday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "And there are other teams that want to bring him in if the Ravens don't sign him. So there are already a couple there that want to bring him in also. So he's got a couple of invitations and we'll see where he winds up on a roster."

The 24-year-old Pavia was special in college, throwing for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season while completing 70.6 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 862 yards and 10 scores, led Vanderbilt—not traditionally a football school—to a 10-3 record, the first 10-win season in school history.

That was enough to make him the runner-up to Indiana's Fernando Mendoza in the Heisman Trophy voting. Granted, the results weren't particularly close, but Pavia was nonetheless highly regarded.

But success in college doesn't always project to success at the NFL level, at least when scouts, coaches and executives analyze a prospect.

For one, Pavia is only 5'10", relatively short for a modern quarterback. Plenty of smaller quarterbacks have had success at the NFL level, but the hit rate is lower on those prospects and they generally possess at least one elite trait.

He doesn't have a particularly strong arm. He often plays off schedule, choosing to improvise while seeking the home run rather than taking the single or double in rhythm (though that did improve in that regard last season). While he's a good runner, he lacks the type of athleticism (4.76 40-yard dash) that would make him a truly dynamic scrambler against NFL-caliber athletes.

There have also been enough questionable decisions off the field to raise legitimate concerns about his maturity level. At some positions, Pavia's personality wouldn't be the biggest deal. At quarterback, the leader of the offense and often the face of the franchise, it was a red flag.

Still, players with question marks regarding their personalities have been drafted before. Look no further than Johnny Manziel or, to a lesser extent, Shedeur Sanders. Pavia's physical limitations clearly played a major part in going undrafted.

But his NFL story isn't necessarily closed for good. Impress the Ravens—or another team—and he may have an NFL career yet. But the odds are already well stacked against him.