Diego Pavia, the Heisman Trophy runner-up who led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history, is staring down the possibility of getting selected in the sixth or seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
At 5-foot-10, he’s undersized for the position and lacks the raw tools to make up for it. Moreover, Pavia’s behavior after losing out on the Heisman Trophy irked many people and might lead NFL teams to pass on him. Ahead of the draft, he drew parallels with Shedeur Sanders.
Tom Pelissero Draws Similarities Between Diego Pavia and Shedeur Sanders
While discussing the outlooks of other quarterbacks like Carson Beck, Drew Allar, and Garrett Nussmeier, Pelissero also mentioned Pavia, and he compared his situation to Sanders.
“You’ve got Diego Pavia, if we’ve got the closest thing to a Shedeur Sanders in this draft… It’s different because Diego Pavia’s dad is not a Pro Football Hall of Famer,” Pelissero said. “He’s got some brothers who have been in the news for other reasons. He’s got a mom who’s pretty famous as well. But he won, he was the second guy for the Heisman at Vanderbilt. He won 10 games in a program that’s a complete afterthought.”
“He [Pavia] doesn’t check any physical box,” Pelissero added. “He is the same height as Kyler Murray and Bryce Young were when they were coming out. Is somebody going to take him late? It’s not going to be day one or day two. I don’t know that he gets drafted, but as you get into the sixth and seventh rounds, how competitive he is, those juices, guys like talking ball with him. Coaches I’ve talked to had him on visits or did Zooms with him, all said, ‘The guy knows football, he’s fun to talk to.'”
In a recent conversation with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, Pavia expressed confidence in himself and dismissed concerns about his height. Similar to Sanders, the former Vanderbilt quarterback’s self-belief might come across as cockiness to some evaluators.
“It’s just, can you deal with all the other stuff?” Pelissero continued. “People asked him directly in the process, ‘What do you think about coming in and being a backup?’ He’s like, ‘I’m not coming in to be a backup.” He’s coming in to take someone’s job. That’s an awkward dynamic. At times, it played into Shedeur last year… That’s going to affect Pavia a little bit here.”
When could some high-profile college QBs be drafted this week? @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/mf88MN7HQt
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 23, 2026
Sanders was widely viewed as the second-best quarterback heading into the 2025 draft, yet he watched 143 names get called before his. The Cleveland Browns ultimately traded up to select him at No. 144 overall in the fifth round.
Similar to Sanders, Pavia is coming into the draft after a great year in college. In 13 games last year, he threw for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. Pavia also rushed for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns on 167 carries. According to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, he had an impact score of 94.8, which was the best in college football last year.
Sanders, despite his historic draft slide, earned a starting role in the NFL. He didn’t play well, completing just 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions across 8 games. According to PFSN’s NFL QB Impact Metric, the Colorado product finished the season as the third-worst quarterback in the NFL.
However, under new head coach Todd Monken, Sanders is competing with Deshaun Watson for the Browns’ starting job next season and has a real shot at winning the competition.
If drafted, Pavia is also expected to start his rookie season as a third-string quarterback. However, given his confidence, he could carve out an NFL career, and some teams might love his approach to life.
