Why did Diego Pavia go undrafted? Vandy QB is first Heisman finalists since 2014 to not be selected originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While he was a 2025 Heisman finalist, former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia became the first Heisman finalist since 2014 to not be drafted.
Pavia proved to be one of college football's most polarizing figures, and many viewers drew comparisons to Johnny Manziel. The quarterback admitted that Manziel actually reached out to him ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The former Commodore is far from towering over his offensive line, standing at just over 5-foot-10. He also did not complete many of the NFL Combine events, as he opted to participate in the majority of events at Vanderbilt's Pro Day.
Here's a look at some reasons that may have contributed to Pavia's undrafted status.
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A wide variety of reasons could have contributed to Pavia's phone being silent on draft weekend. First, according to the NFL, Pavia measures at 5-foot-10 and one-eighth of an inch. That would make Pavia one of the shortest QBs in the NFL. If Pavia were to be signed as an undrafted free agent and appear in an NFL game, he would tie Doug Flutie, Joe Hamilton, Kyler Murray, and Bryce Young as the shortest-listed passers in league history. All four of those players were also listed as 5-foot-10.
Pavia did not record a 40-yard time at this year's combine. Along with this, he didn't perform in the vertical or broad jump events. He did these events at Vanderbilt's Pro Day.
He exclusively threw passes at the combine. Here are a couple of his throws.
Diego Pavia missed bad on the first out route, but cleaned it up on the second one pic.twitter.com/Dwa2Od3Lbk
The former Vanderbilt quarterback has also had his fair share of viral moments on social media. One quote that was widely circulated came at the combine, where Pavia joked that his brain was not yet fully developed. His personality did manage to rub some fans the wrong way, even if the joke was harmless.
“Coach Lea always pressed that your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed til you’re 25, and I just turned 24," Pavia said. "So, I've got like 360 more days to go.”
QB Diego Pavia on his maturity, via @MadelynBurke:“Coach Lea always pressed that your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed til you’re 25, and I just turned 24… so I’ve got like 365 days to go.” pic.twitter.com/NgY01LznZZ
Despite these circumstances, Pavia was expecting to be drafted at some point this year.
The setup for Diego Pavia’s draft party. We will see where the Vanderbilt QB goes. @WKRNpic.twitter.com/66iMsshgYC
MORE: How did Diego Pavia do at the NFL Combine?
The last Heisman finalist to go undrafted was Jordan Lynch. The former Northern Illinois quarterback later signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent, but was later waived in May 2014.
Here are Lynch's stats from his four-year collegiate career, according to Sports Reference.
Pavia measures at 5-foot-10 and one-eighth of an inch, according to the NFL. At Vanderbilt's Pro Day, the QB had a 4.76 40-yard time. It is unclear how he did in the vertical and broad jump events at his Pro Day.
Here are some of Pavia's other measurements from the combine.