Diego Pavia didn’t hear his name called on any of the three days of the 2026 NFL Draft. The 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up, the quarterback who led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history, became the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since Northern Illinois’s Jordan Lynch in 2014.
Pavia going undrafted, while painful, wasn’t exactly shocking as Garrett Nussmeier, who was once projected as a top-five pick, slid all the way to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 249 in the seventh round. If a former first-round lock from LSU barely squeezed through the draft’s back door, Pavia’s path was always going to be narrower given his limitations.
Diego Pavia Advised To Look for Opportunities in CFL, UFL
Former Dallas Cowboys seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci knows what life is like on the other side of the NFL. After appearing in three games for Dallas in 2020, DiNucci didn’t get another opportunity and was later waived. He rebuilt his stock in the XFL with the Seattle Sea Dragons and eventually returned to the NFL, joining the Denver Broncos’ practice squad in 2023.
DiNucci gave blunt advice to Pavia after the former Vanderbilt star went undrafted:
“If I was Diego Pavia and still want to play football I would call the CFL and The UFL immediately,” DiNucci wrote on X. “No better way to shut people up and show them you’re serious about playing. Just have to go play somewhere at this point. I could see him having similar career to Doug Flutie up north.”
If I was Diego Pavia and still want to play football I would call the @CFL and @TheUFL immediately.
No better way to shut people up and show them you’re serious about playing. Just have to go play somewhere at this point.
I could see him having similar career to Doug Flutie…
— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) April 26, 2026
Flutie, who was also shorter than a typical quarterback like Pavia, won a Heisman Trophy at Boston College and couldn’t stick in the NFL during his first stint.
He left for the CFL in 1990 and spent eight seasons dominating the league before returning to the NFL with the Buffalo Bills in 1998, at 36. That comeback earned him a Pro Bowl selection and the AP Comeback Player of the Year award.
MORE: PFSN’s 2026 NFL UDFA Tracker
The CFL’s wider field, its emphasis on passing, and its openness to mobile quarterbacks would suit Pavia’s skill set. He completed 70.6% of his throws for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns while adding 862 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in 2025. According to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, he was the nation’s highest-rated quarterback last season with an impact score of 94.8.
The fan following alone makes Pavia an attractive commodity for a CFL or UFL franchise. His draft party, in which he displayed hats from all 32 NFL teams on a table that went untouched, became one of the most viral moments of draft weekend.
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Both leagues are looking for marketable faces, and Pavia could become a superstar there. Moreover, if he plays well in either league, as DiNucci did, he could get a chance to land on an NFL team in the near future.
DiNucci also replied to a fan who said Pavia has more upside than some of the other players who signed as undrafted free agents after the draft. While he agreed, he also explained why the Vanderbilt product might not get an opportunity in the league. “Doesn’t matter. NFL doesn’t want QBs with baggage,” DiNucci wrote.
