While Fernando Mendoza stole fans’ hearts in 2025 with a National Championship and Heisman Trophy winning season, Diego Pavia was pushing him all season. Pavia earned plenty of fanfare himself in his final collegiate season, guiding Vanderbilt to a very strong season and was a Heisman finalist alongside Mendoza.
Just like Mendoza, Pavia is eligible to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. But unlike Mendoza, Pavia is not highly regarded by the NFL. The biggest reason for Pavia’s low draft outlook is quite obviously his height. He’s not a prototypical quarterback measurements-wise.
Diego Pavia would become shortest QB in NFL history since merger
That was only further amplified after Pavia was measured at the Senior Bowl. Coming in at 5-foot-9 and 7/8, history is now on the opposite side of Pavia. That’s because once he enters the NFL, Pavia would become the shortest quarterback in NFL history (since 1970).
Michael David Smith of Yahoo Sports noted that the last quarterback under 5-foot-10 to start a game in the league was Eddie LeBaron for the Dallas Cowboys in 1963.
As of right now, the two shortest quarterbacks in the league are Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals and Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers. Murray is on his way out of Arizona after failing to meet expectations, while Young has been highly inconsistent to start his career.
