Diego Pavia continued to showcase why he is one of the most polarizing players, making headlines at the 2026 NFL Combine.
Former quarterback of the Vanderbilt Commodores, Diego Pavia, has been one of the most polarizing college football players this season. He has been a true underdog his entire career, and he has no issue with reminding people of it. His talent is undeniable on the field, but his antics surrounding the game make him one of the more interesting players in the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead of keeping his head down and letting his play do the talking, Pavia did what he does best and lit another fire around him and his maturity, showing shades of Shedeur Sanders at the 2026 NFL Combine.
Let’s talk about what he said and how that could affect his draft stock.
Diego Pavia Makes Interesting Comments at NFL Combine
Over the past few years in the limelight, Diego Pavia has said and done many things that have thrust his name into the limelight for not the best reasons. From posting a message saying “F*** all the voters” on social media after he lost out on the Heisman award to partying in a club next to a sign that said “F*** Indiana,” Pavia has not lifted a finger when it comes to staying out of media headlines. For the most part, during the NFL Combine this year, he answered questions from the media with a fire and tenacity that is to be expected, without drifting into the controversial aspects that may call his character into question.
When asked about his confidence, Pavia stated: “I feel like a lot of teams respect the tenacity, the fight…The life of an underdog, that’s for sure.” Almost all football fans will have no issue at all with those comments. To play in the NFL, especially at the quarterback position, you need to be a little arrogant or have an edge to be a good player. Unfortunately, his comments didn’t stop there.
Maturity Issues Mirror Shedeur Sanders
For anyone who actually watched Shedeur Sanders in college, it was clear he was not a first-round caliber player. He showcased plenty of talent, but also plenty of flaws in his play. On top of that, his perceived arrogance and massive maturity issues showcased throughout his entire life up until the draft were a big reason he fell to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Clearly, Diego Pavia is mirroring this part of Sanders, but without the name value that helped carry Sanders, which is also combined with his incredibly small stature for a quarterback. Listed at just 5’10”, there isn’t much going Pavia’s way, which is why his antics off the field will be so damaging to his draft stock. As if all these comments weren’t enough, he essentially goes out of his way to make a joke about his lack of maturity and say that his frontal lobe isn’t developed, so he can’t be expected to be fully mature yet. Somehow, in that statement, he showcases that he still has the mentality of a prepubescent teenager while also being older than almost everyone else in the draft class.
As if all this wasn’t bad enough, he also went on to reveal that he is being mentored and taking advice from Johnny Manziel. While Manziel has certainly seemed to have matured since his college days, he is still finding himself in the crosshairs in the media constantly over questionable antics, even to this day, from how he conducts himself.
Diego Pavia’s Draft Stock Tanks
Even though he finished second in the Heisman voting this past season, Pavia already had his work cut out for him. He did find success at Vanderbilt, but as a 24-year-old, his age was always going to be a negative when it came to his draft stock. Factor in his height and his major maturity issues in college, and Pavia was already in a deep hole. Now, with more comments coming out from him about who is mentoring him and his lack of caring about perceived maturity issues, it appears he has completely lost all interest in building any draft stock.
Personally, I have nothing against Diego Pavia. While he may come off as a prick, that is entirely his prerogative, and there are certainly worse people in the NFL who have committed actually heinous crimes (see Xavier Worthy). With that being said, the road Pavia is going down is one that rarely sees success. Without the brand of Shedeur Sanders, it remains to be seen how these new comments will affect his draft stock. While his talent is undeniable, the headache that Pavia will bring to whatever team drafts him might not be worth it.
As a result, don’t be surprised if Pavia slides farther in this draft than expected, following in the footsteps of many immature quarterbacks who came before him. After all, he’ll only have himself to blame.
