One of the biggest names in the 2026 NFL Draft also went undrafted, as Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia did not hear his name called during the seven rounds of this year's draft. The Baltimore Ravens invited the Commodores signal caller to a tryout at their rookie minicamp and doing so has certainly drawn plenty of headlines.
One person who is not a fan of the Ravens giving Pavia this tryout is Dan Patrick, who spoke about the controversial quarterback during his show on Monday. Patrick said that Pavia's personality is one that he'd steer clear of if he were running an NFL franchise.
"Diego Pavia has a personality but he does not have a personality that I want as my backup quarterback. I don't think he's good enough to be a starter in the NFL," Patrick said on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday. "You're gonna bring him into Baltimore, you do have Lamar Jackson and you have a new head coach in [Jesse Minter], I don't want that. Maybe if it's Andy Reid with Patrick Mahomes, maybe but you've got to be really good... Now, you're gonna be a backup. 'I don't get to play?' That's the life of a backup quarterback. 'You don't want to see me, you don't want to hear from me, you just want me to help the starting quarterback'. And that was the brutal reality that Diego Pavia was handed over the weekend."
Dan Patrick's blunt assessment of Diego Pavia is harsh but fair
Pavia had one heck of a career at Vanderbilt and was a Heisman Trophy finalist this past season. He's the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted since 2014, which is pretty telling.
It also says a lot that the Ravens didn't opt to bring Pavia in as a UDFA but rather just invited him to a tryout. They are surely aware of the personality the Vanderbilt quarterback has and while that's all fun and dandy at the collegiate level, this is the NFL. The Ravens have their starting quarterback and a new head coach, they don't need extra distractions at the position and Pavia is clearly someone that teams are worried about being an unwanted distraction.
The good news for the Ravens is that if Pavia shows promise in the tryout, they can keep him on the roster or on the practice squad and see what comes of it. If he becomes too much of a distraction, that's an easy fix. Maybe he can taper his personality enough and become a dependable player for the Ravens but that doesn't feel all that likely.
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