From New Mexico State to Vanderbilt, quarterback Diego Pavia has stayed in the spotlight for years, capping off his college career with the honor of being a Heisman finalist. Now deep into the draft process and post-NFL combine, football enthusiasts aren’t exactly jumping on the table in support of Pavia.
Here’s What This Ex-QB Is Saying About Diego Pavia’s Combine Performance
Former NFL quarterback and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms had choice words for Pavia’s performance at the NFL combine and his career potential.
“To his backside, he was a D thrower. I mean, it was C- or D. To his front side, he was like, A, B, okay, great,” Simms said.
Admittedly, Pavia had some nice throws, but likely didn’t raise his stock as much as other quarterbacks. Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Miami’s Carson Beck, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier were overall more consistent throwing from inside and outside the pocket.
Simms went on to question Pavia’s NFL future, asking, “Is he an NFL prospect? I’m not sure, right? It’s too early to answer, but that’s what people aren’t trying to figure out… On the small quarterback, they’re cold.
Between Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, and some others, I think the whole league is a little scared of them now. They’ve realized, like, hey, there’s flaws, and you’re gonna have to play with those flaws, or have a special team to kind of orchestrate an offense with this smaller type of quarterback.”
Few can blame Simms for his argument against smaller quarterbacks, especially with the recent trajectory of Murray and Tagovailoa’s careers.
While both started their careers relatively well, injuries and a lack of field vision have played huge factors in each of their declines.
Additionally, with a smaller quarterback, teams are more likely to design a quick-release offense just to keep them upright, limiting the number of deep throws and complex reads that top quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen make on a routine basis.
This is not to say Pavia doesn’t have a chance in the league – he certainly does, after showing polarizing potential in the SEC with a 29-TD season, finishing the 2025 season ranked as the top signal-caller according to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Grades.
However, he’ll need to find a team with an open-minded playcaller who believes he can get something out of Pavia, which will be hard to find.
Add that onto some of the media headaches he’s caused, and Pavia will be facing an uphill battle to become a starting quarterback in the league.
