Diego Pavia isn't as concerned about his physical stature as some scouts.
Pavia officially measured at 5-foot-10 at the NFL Scouting Combine, raising questions about his viability as a pro passer. Every other quarterback at the combine is at least 6 feet tall, and Pavia would match Bryce Young and Kyler Murray as the league's shortest signal-callers.
Jon Gruden asked Pavia to respond to concerns about his height during an interview on Barstool Sports' "Gruden's QB Class." The 24-year-old thinks his performance should do all the talking.
"The guys that I'm playing every single Saturday are the guys you're drafting first round," Pavia said. "So why does 5'10" even really matter? Go watch the tape."
How will height affect Pavia's draft stock?
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Vanderbilt listed Pavia at 6'0" last year, and nobody seemed too worried about his height when the quarterback steered the Commodores to a 10-win season with 29 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing scores.
However, the combine measuresment could raise issues for the former SEC standout. ESPN's Jordan Reid wondered about Pavia's height when ranking him 12th among the quarterbacks in this year's draft class.
"At just under 5-foot-10, QBs of Pavia’s size hardly ever last in the NFL as late-round selections,” Reid wrote. "His stature makes him an extreme outlier, which could take him off some teams’ draft boards. Pavia needs to learn how to operate consistently through progressions, as Vanderbilt’s offense included a lot of shotgun-based one- or two-option reads."
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein called Pavia a "short, tough, productive quarterback who plays bigger than his measurables." Despite noting his improvisational and running abilities, the scout capped Pavia's ceiling.
"Quarterbacks his size rarely make NFL rosters, but his competitiveness should be a plus as long as he’s willing to accept a role as a backup," Zierlein wrote.
CBS Sports ranks Pavia as the No. 13 quarterback and No. 287 overall player. The Heisman Trophy runner-up may have succeeded against future first-round NFL selections, but Pavia may be looking at a Day 3 selection -- if he's drafted at all -- later this month.
