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Diego Pavia accepts invite to Ravens' minicamp
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Diego Pavia accepts invite to Ravens' minicamp after becoming first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since 2014

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia will get a chance to make an NFL roster after going undrafted. It may be his only one. 

On Sunday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Pavia has accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens' minicamp next weekend. No other invitations have been reported.

Whenever Pavia arrives at the Ravens minicamp, he will still face an uphill battle in making the team's 53-man roster. The Vanderbilt QB lacks many of the tools teams covet in QBs, which is one reason he became the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since former Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch in 2014.

Why Diego Pavia went undrafted, and what are his chances of making Ravens roster? 

Pavia measured 5-foot-10, 207 pounds at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, well below the prototypical size for NFL QBs. Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, 2025 league MVP, is listed at 6-foot-3, 214 pounds.

Pavia lacks the arm strength needed to offset concerns about his size. Per Pro Football Focus, 41.2 percent of his 378 pass attempts in 2025 were from zero to nine air yards (yards the ball travels in the air). On attempts of 20-plus air yards, he went 19-of-49 (38.8 percent, below average). 

Teams don't want a QB who doesn't check the boxes. They also don't want one who could be deemed immature. Pavia wrote "F ALL THE VOTERS" on his Instagram story after finishing second in Heisman voting behind Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza, whom the Las Vegas Raiders selected with pick No. 1 in the draft. Pavia later apologized on X.

Pavia's chances of making Baltimore's roster are slim at best. The Ravens feature two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson at QB, who's in no danger of losing his job anytime soon. Tyler Huntley is Jackson's backup. He proved dependable last season when he went 2-0 as a starter while filling in for Jackson.

Pavia's best-case scenario is making the team as a QB3. If he doesn't, it's fair to wonder if another NFL team will give him a chance.  

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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