It is never too early to begin watching prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft. General manager Jason Licht has made the draft the key cog in the machine for the Bucs in terms of roster building and transforming the team itself.
We are going to be covering every position in the draft, but not all of them will be the Bucs’ needs necessarily. But of course, anything is possible for a team, and if not, they will be drafted by a division rival that the Bucs see twice a year.
For this report, we will be discussing a quarterback. A position that the Bucs do not need, but the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons may go after in the draft. Because of that, we want to cover all our bases for those whom we may be seeing in divisional play or beyond.
With that in mind, here is our report on Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia.
Information
Diego Pavia
Background
Notable Stats Heading into Final Bowl Game
Notable PFF Numbers from 2025 (minus Bowl Game)
Skills
Player Summary
Diego Pavia is a tough eval only because the size he possesses will make him be taken off a lot of draft boards. That being said, if he were at least six feet tall, he could be in the first round conversation, given the state of this class. He showed that he is a winner at every level of the game in which he played, but that doesn’t mean he won’t face an uphill battle in the NFL. He is likely not fast enough to make as many plays, and the game itself will be tougher for him, despite playing in the SEC. I like Pavia to be a fun backup option for a team that wants to keep their offensive explosive in the event of an injury to their starter. He very much reminds me of a Tommy DeVito-type backup, which would give him a good NFL career at the very least.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: Diego Pavia, Quarterback, Vanderbilt
Reporting by Andrew Harbaugh, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
