Diego Pavia, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, is being urged by the Baltimore Ravens to maximise his time in the NFL as his preseason program gets underway.
Pavia, a superb collegiate football player, was not chosen by any of the 32 clubs in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After the draft was over, he eventually agreed to a three-year professional contract with the Ravens.
Despite Pavia’s current projection as the team’s fourth quarterback, Jesse Minter, the new head coach of the Ravens, urged the former Vanderbilt standout to prove his abilities.
“Now that he’s in the door, it’s like, “Show us what you can do,” Minter remarked on Saturday. “And that’s what I would say, just like all the undrafted rookies.”
“We see it as an opportunity to bring in a player that could potentially be something, and that’s really what this is for us,” Minter continued.
Diego Pavia, the backup quarterback for the Ravens, is being urged by head coach Jesse Minter to demonstrate his abilities.
This season, no NFL team selected Pavia, the 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up.
As an undrafted free agent, he ultimately agreed to a three-year deal with the Ravens.
Minter’s remarks came after a video of Pavia at a practice went viral online.
On Saturday, video of Pavia practicing basic snaps and handoffs was shared on social media, showing him going through the motions of his first-ever minicamp.
However, because of Pavia’s small stature and slim build in comparison to the center who was snapping him the ball, the video has gone viral.
Fans ridiculed Pavia, who is 5-foot-10, in the video’s comments section due to the obvious height disparity with his teammate.
One user on X commented, “Looks like a solid chunky middle school prospect.”
“He’s so short!” exclaimed another. He can’t see over the OL, so if he plays, they’ll need to keep him moving!
He’s taking chest-level under-center snaps. Another fan joked, “This is amazing.”
Diego Pavia, a UDFA quarterback, is attending the Ravens rookie minicamp in Owings Mills: pic.twitter.com/iPhuZTl2J2
The 5-foot-10 former Vanderbilt signal caller was spotted in Ravens practice footage.
Joe Fagnano (L), another undrafted free agent, and Pavia (R) are vying for the No. 3 quarterback position.
“He’s out of the shotgun cuz he has to go on his tippy toes to take the snap under center” was another similar observation.
Pavia is still in the running for the Ravens’ No. 3 quarterback position despite the harsh criticism he has received from trolls on social media.
Another undrafted free agent who inked a contract with Baltimore, former UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano, is competing alongside him.
