4 reasons why Diego Pavia is sliding in 2026 NFL Draft – USA Today

Diego Pavia was college football’s most electrifying quarterback in 2025. His ability to translate to the NFL is clearly in doubt, however.
The former Vanderbilt star didn’t hear his name called over the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Fernando Mendoza, who beat out Pavia for the Heisman, went first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, as expected. Ty Simpson then went to the Los Angeles Rams in a stunner at No. 13, while Carson Beck and Drew Allar came off the board in Round 3 to the quarterback-needy Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively.
For the college football fans whose jaws are dropping from Pavia’s slide, here are four reasons why NFL teams may have knocked the fan favorite down draft boards.
At just over 5-foot-10 and 207 pounds, Pavia has the exact same predraft measurables as Kyler Murray but lacks the all-world athleticism that made Murray worthy of the No. 1 pick. His composite size score is “very poor,” per his Relative Athletic Score profile.
Only four players 5-foot-10 and under have started at QB since the AFL-NFL merger: Doug Flutie, Joe Hamilton, Murray and Bryce Young. If Pavia were to carve out a starting career, he’d be a historic outlier from a size perspective.
After six college seasons, Pavia is entering the NFL at age 24. The NFL often prefers younger players who aren’t as maxed out physically, while Pavia would be 28 and possibly exiting his athletic prime by the end of his rookie contract. That also seems to be one of the reasons why LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, another 24-year-old QB prospect, has slid to Day 3.
Pavia is never afraid to speak his mind, and not every team will be comfortable with that — particularly if he’s a backup. He posted “F all the voters” on his Instagram Story after finishing behind Mendoza in Heisman voting, offered Theo Von a date with his mom if Vanderbilt could beat South Carolina, and was caught urinating on rival New Mexico’s practice field in 2023.
While Pavia is accurate and a quick-processor on short to intermediate throws, his deep balls are simply not NFL-calibre. Defenses can shrink the field on Pavia, bringing more defenders into the box to shut down the run game while forcing him to throw the long ball. Pavia will have to prove he can make them pay, but he didn’t exhibit the ability to do so in college.

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