As the face of Vanderbilt’s rise and a legitimate Heisman finalist, Diego Pavia’s path to the NFL was supposed to be clear. Instead, it’s been met with brutal resistance. The former Vandy QB used his media availability at the Combine to stress what it would mean to feature in the pros.

“I’m a man on a mission,” Diego Pavia said, addressing the media at the 2026 NFL Combine. “I’ve dreamed about this since I was a kid, so I’m super excited for this opportunity and super grateful for it, too.”

If you take a look at Pavia’s NFL scouting report, most feel that he’s the player with a big, brash personality and his shorter height. Scouting reports suggest that he thrived at the CFB level but wouldn’t be a good fit in the pros. This prompted Pavia to describe the kind of player and teammate he would be.

“What’s true about me is I’m humble, and I get my confidence from my process,” Pavia said. “If you saw how much I put into this, you would see where I get my confidence from. I’m the ultimate teammate. I’ll do anything for my team. The guys who’ve been around me know that, so I’ll just carry that with me. Any team that I meet with or am excited to meet with is going to get a competitor if they get me.”

The hype around Pavia built after he surpassed his breakout 2024 season with a historic 2025. The Vandy QB passed for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns. At the same time, he rushed for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns. Pavia went on to win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year honor. All of that led to his presence at the Heisman ceremony in New York, and that’s where the downward spiral began.

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After Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman, Pavia took to Instagram and abused the voters who chose the Indiana QB over him. Even though he issued a formal apology, the damage was done. Clark Lea came forward to defend his QB’s character amid criticism, and even several of his teammates vouched for the kind of leader Pavia was.

When the focus shifted to his draft scout, he was hit with another reality check. Vanderbilt listed Pavia at 6 feet. But when he was measured at the 2026 Senior Bowl, the actual height came out to be 5’9″, shorter than the ideal height of an NFL QB.

Diego Pavia’s NFL future felt uncertain

Despite an impressive collegiate career, the New Mexico native is considered a third-day pick, and some even project him only as a priority free agent. His body frame is considered the biggest weakness that Pavia couldn’t overcome. While Pavia has proven his height isn’t a drawback against top competition, he still wants scouts to look at his film before making assumptions.

“I would just say turn on the tape,” Pavia said. “It’s not like we’re not playing these guys who are going first round or second round on Saturdays in the SEC. So, I know the SEC and the Big Ten probably have the most guys drafted in the first and second rounds. So, we’re playing those guys, and nothing is going to change.”

“I played six years of college football,” Pavia later added. “I played two at JUCO, two at New Mexico State, and two at Vanderbilt. I’ve seen a lot of football. I feel like I can process a defense really fast, get the ball where it needs to go, check us into good plays, and stay out of bad plays. And I feel like that’s how you stay on schedule [with] that second-and-6, third-and-short; that’s how you win football games.”

With his pro day on the horizon, Pavia faces a critical opportunity to prove his impressive college production and competitive fire can overcome the physical measurables that have so far defined his draft narrative.