Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was scheduled to make a pre-draft visit to the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday.
Whether or not Pavia actually gets drafted, of course, remains unclear.
But Carolina would seem to make as logical a landing place as any.
Pavia’s visit with the Panthers, initially reported by NFL.com, is believed to be the only visit so far for the former Commodores signal caller.
On one hand, that’s hard to believe, considering Pavia finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting and was named the SEC offensive player of the year in 2025.
He completed 74 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns versus eight interceptions — while running 167 times for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns.
What NFL team wouldn’t want some of that?
The primary problem is that Pavia stands just 5-10, so short compared to his peers that — if Pavia ever started an NFL game — he would be tied for the shortest quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
The only other 5-10 QB starters currently playing in the NFL are Minnesota’s Kyler Murray and Carolina’s Bryce Young.
That’s where the Carolina connection starts to make sense.
The Panthers have seen Young, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, put together some decent numbers despite his lack of size. In 2025, the former Alabama star threw for 3,539 yards and 23 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions, posting an 8-8 record as a starter.
So if Young has succeeded to some degree, maybe it’s worth taking a chance on Pavia.
The only other quarterback on Carolina’s roster is Kenny Pickett, who is listed as 6-3.
There’s no guarantee, however, that any team will draft Pavia.
In addition to his stature, Pavia is already 24 years old, lacks NFL-esque arm strength and has raised some concerns with his off-field behavior.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller, for instance, recently completed a seven-round mock draft, and it didn’t include Pavia among his 257 selections.
But Pavia, who has never lacked for confidence, believes he will hear his name called later this month.
“A hundred-percent,” Pavia told ESPN at the Senior Bowl in January. “When has the last SEC player of the year not been drafted? You know what I mean?
“I feel like you go watch, the tape number speaks for [itself]. Everything speaks for themselves,” he aded. “I feel like I’m the best player in the country, and I still believe that. That’s just the ultimate confidence that I’ve had.”
In fact, Pavia hopes to use concerns about his size as a motivating tool.
“Yeah, I just want to show it don’t matter what size you are,” Pavia said. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog. So that’s who I am. That’s what I’ll forever be.”