The 2026 NFL Draft didn’t go as planned for college football star Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt quarterback is hearing from online haters after going undrafted.
Pavia starred at the SEC program over the past two seasons following his early collegiate career at New Mexico State and New Mexico Military Institute. However, many NFL fans were surprised to see Pavia didn’t find an immediate home during the draft.
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The former Heisman Trophy finalist became the first college star to go undrafted in over a decade. Meanwhile, that’s prompting online trolls to call out Pavia with brutal memes and other comments.
The setup for Diego Pavia’s draft party. We will see where the Vanderbilt QB goes. pic.twitter.com/vFYPUt38XG
The 2026 class didn’t feature a lot of quarterback talent outside of number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza. However, several other signal callers like Ty Simpson, Carson Beck and Drew Allar went in the first three rounds.
Pavia finished in the final four for last season’s Heisman candidates, trailing Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love and Julian Sayin. The Vandy standout threw for over 3,500 yards and 29 touchdown passes during his final college season.
That’s caused an uproar from NFL fans suggesting that Pavia hasn’t been professional enough during the draft process. Pavia received a lot of criticism during an appearance with Barstool Sports’ Jon Gruden discussing his NIL journey.
🚨In the NFL draft today:-A man who's never played football before… got drafted-A Heisman finalist 3 months ago… went un-drafted pic.twitter.com/ZmlZcgX1ti
— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) April 26, 2026
Pavia stated that he didn’t hire an agent in college so that he could keep all the money earned from NIL endorsements.
“I didn’t think it was fair that someone was going to represent me and take 5-10%… ain’t nobody taking my money,” Pavia stated during “Gruden’s QB Class.”
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Last season, Pavia was named a first-team All-American during Vanderbilt’s historic season. The 24-year-old star led the Commodores to their first 10-win campaign in program history.
Teams now have the opportunity to sign Pavia as an undrafted free agent after being passed on during the seven-round NFL Draft.
Pavia met with several NFL teams throughout the 2026 NFL Draft process including the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots
Pavia received many questions about his maturity throughout the pre-draft process. However, the former Vandy star must be shocked to not hear his name called during draft weekend.