Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia seeks to achieve his NFL dreams by defying history for undersized, undrafted passers.
Every year an NFL Draft fall catches the eyes of the entire league and fanbase. This year's example was Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.
While his moxie and high-level collegiate production looked to make him a Cinderella draft darling, he instead went undrafted throughout the entire 2026 selection process. Not only that, no team signed him as an undrafted free agent either, following the seven-rounds of this year's draft.
However, an opportunity is on the way for him as the Baltimore Ravens invited the Heisman Trophy runner-up to tryout for the team.
Before arriving for the tryout, however, the Ravens signed him to a three-year deal. The contract is typical of all undrafted agreements.
Despite the signing, the odds are still stacked against the 5-foot-10 passer from Vandy as he looks to buck an unfavorable NFL trend, becoming a sub-6 foot, undrafted passer to make it in the league. Since the draft was instituted in 1936, only 17 such quarterbacks have appeared in NFL games with six seeing no more than a handful in action, per Pro Football Reference.
The most recent example was Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers signal caller P.J. Walker, who appeared in 21 total career games including nine starts between 2020 and 2023.
Here is a detailed look from Ravens Roundtable writer James Brizuela at the quarterback's opportunity, road blocks and the inside connection that may lead to his NFL dreams being realized.
Pavia began his college football career at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt where he quickly gained popularity as a tough and confident passer. He put together a hallmark win against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a 40-35 SEC slugfest. In that game, be completed 80% of his passes for 252 passing yards, two passing touchdowns. The performance marked the program's first win against an AP top-5 team.
Over his four-year collegiate career, he completed 62.2% of his passing attempts for 10,255 passing yards, 88 passing touchdowns and just 27 interceptions. His 29 passing touchdowns and 70.6% completion rate in 2025 both led the SEC.