Although Diego Pavia generated plenty of hype for himself after having a strong 2025-26 season with the Vanderbilt Commodores, the star quarterback went undrafted this year in the 2026 NFL Draft. After not being selected, Pavia snapped a 12-year streak for Heisman Trophy finalists.
Pavia, who is 24 years old, is the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted in 12 years, according to Bleacher Report Grid Iron. The last time that happened was in the 2014 NFL Draft, when Jordan Lynch went undrafted after being a Heisman Trophy finalist for the 2013-14 college football season.
“Diego Pavia becomes the first Heisman finalist since 2014 to go undrafted,” said Bleacher Report Grid Iron.
The former Vanderbilt star believed he was going to be selected in the NFL Draft. So much so that he threw a draft party featuring a hat for each of the 32 teams, as he was prepared to put one on after getting a call from a franchise, per Julian Mininsohn of WKRN News Nashville.
The setup for Diego Pavia’s draft party. We will see where the Vanderbilt QB goes. @WKRN pic.twitter.com/66iMsshgYC
— Julian Mininsohn (@JMininsohn) April 25, 2026
Pavia’s journey to the NFL isn’t done, as he still has the opportunity to sign as an undrafted free agent with any team in the league. He is an experienced quarterback who exudes confidence in himself. However, he is a bit undersized for the league, as he is just under 5-foot-10.
Regardless, Diego Pavia balled out throughout most of his collegiate career. Especially last season, where he led Vanderbilt to a 10-3 record. It was the first time in program history that the Commodores won double-digit games in a given season. Pavia ended the campaign with 3,539 passing yards while leading the SEC in passing touchdowns with 29 and completing 70.6% of his pass attempts. Oh, and he rushed for 862 yards and scored an additional 10 touchdowns on the ground.
The post Diego Pavia breaks 12-year Heisman streak by going undrafted appeared first on ClutchPoints.
