It wasn’t that long ago that Diego Pavia was among the Heisman Trophy finalists, only to lose out to former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Pavia, though, has not been picked as the 2026 NFL Draft entered its fifth round on Saturday. Now the question becomes, will Pavia be selected at all?
Diego Pavia NFL Draft Data Offers Insights
Pavia was ranked in the No. 13 spot among quarterbacks per PFSN NFL Draft HQ data. He has a prospect score of 64.89 and an RAS score of 4.49. Pavia has been projected as a seventh-round pick by PFSN NFL Draft HQ data, with his selection potentially coming between the 215-254 pick range.
Pavia has a number of assets in his game. At the same time, there is a liability here and there that might cause NFL teams to pause before selecting him.
“Diego Pavia was one of the stars of the 2025 college football season,” PFSN’s scouting report on Pavia noted. “He began his collegiate career at New Mexico Military Institute after being overlooked as a high school recruit, and leveraged a dominant second season at NMMI into an opportunity with the New Mexico State Aggies.
“His processing isn’t quite NFL-caliber, nor is his arm strength, and even his athleticism might not be as prevalent against NFL talent,” the report noted. “Pavia has the desired mobility, toughness, and quick-game utility to function as an NFL backup, but his ceiling is likely capped beyond that.”
Pavia’s top 5 traits, according to PFSN NFL Draft data, are toughness, creation capacity, arm elasticity, accuracy/precision, and decision-making.
In PFSN analyst Ian Cummings’ latest mock draft for day 3, he projects that Pavia will go undrafted. Moreover, some people working in the NFL aren’t big fans of the Vanderbilt product.
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“The whole schtick gets old,” an NFC scouting director said about Pavia. “Little bit of Johnny Football – it’s more lore and college bulls*** than it is really true mystique or allure or whatever. I just don’t think he’s overly talented. He’ll bounce around on a couple teams, just because he’s competitive. I think he’s smart and he’ll learn it and all that stuff. But you’ve got a runaround, RPO, college quarterback with an average arm.”
One AFC scouting director also raised concerns about Pavia’s lack of acceptance as a backup quarterback, and it has impacted his draft stock.
Pavia might indeed find himself without an NFL home as the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft winds down. He’s shown throughout his college career that he has a level of toughness to his game. Now, he’s sitting by his phone waiting to get a call.
