Diego Pavia's draft night did not go as he expected it to. After finishing as a runner-up to the Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza, the Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback, becomes the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since Jordan Lynch in 2014. 

Pavia led the Commodores to one of their best seasons in program history when they went 10-3. In the 2025 season alone, the quarterback threw for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns. Throughout his college career, the quarterback had more than 10,000 passing yards. 

There is still hope for the former Vanderbilt quarterback, as he could be picked up as an undrafted free agent. Through the seven rounds and 257 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, Pavia had no luck. 

The common belief that Pavia did not have an agent for the NFL Draft is incorrect. Indeed, Pavia refused an agent for his NIL (name, image, and likeness) negotiations during his college career and even made his feelings clear when he appeared on the “Gruden’s QB Class.” 

"I didn't think it was fair that someone was going to represent me and take 5 to 10 percent," Pavia said. "Ain't nobody taking my money."

However, when it came down to the NFL, Pavia signed with Malki Kawa and First Round Management, and they even made a post on Instagram welcoming him to the company. 

The Vanderbilt quarterback held a draft party as well, setting out 32 hats on two tables, representing one hat for each franchise. In the end, Pavia went undrafted. 

The fans are not making it easy for the quarterback either, taking to social media quickly to comment on the quarterback's situation

How are fans reacting to Diego Pavia going undrafted?

Fans have been relentless in their reactions to Pavia not being drafted, with some comments taking into account his off-field behavior as a possible cause.

One fan is not mincing his words, referring to what happened at the Heisman Award ceremony. “This egomaniac will not get drafted!! His antics after the Heisman Awards cemented that!! Just a (six clown emojis).”

Following his second-place Heisman finish, Pavia reposted a picture on Instagram of himself with his offensive line, accompanied by a profanity-ridden caption.

One fan had a harsh response to the Commodore quarterback, “Hope he saved the receipts bc (because) he will need to return all of these hats. He is not getting drafted.”

The prediction was right by this fan; however, one might only wonder what else Pavia needed to do to get drafted. With almost 1,232 completions and a completion percentage of 62.2%, he still went undrafted. 

Pavia will have to take this next one with a grain of salt, with a fan stating, “They’re drafting people from other countries that have never even played football before, before a quarterback that went undefeated at home in the SEC. SMH.”

This fan is referring to the player Uar Bernard, a defensive tackle from Nigeria, whom the Eagles drafted in round 7 as their 251st overall pick. 

Another fan referred to the height of the quarterback, “All because he is too short based on the NFL standards, honestly crazy.”

Pavia measures at 5 feet and 10 inches. Questions then arise for Kyler Murray and Bryce Young, both of whom are quarterbacks and play in the NFL. 

Another fan sees light at the end of the tunnel for Pavia. “He's far from an ideal NFL player, might not even get drafted. But I still would not count him out. Don't tell me Brock Purdy or Kyler Murray, or a few others, are better.”

Brock Purdy, the present starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was famously “Mr. Irrelevant” as he was the last pick in the 7th round as the 262nd overall pick. Purdy led the 49ers to a Super Bowl. If anything, Pavia still has hope to be in the NFL. 

The common consensus seems to be that if Pavia had kept a low profile off-field, the QB may have been drafted earlier. Let us know if you agree in the comments.

Read more at the Michigan Football Community

Written by

Samvruth Raj

Edited by

Surjo Roy