Diego Pavia’s Viral Lamar Jackson Snub Recirculates After Ravens Sign QB

The Ravens have reportedly signed Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to a three-year deal after Pavia went undrafted. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @woodyVSworld

It took a little bit longer, but Diego Pavia has found his pro home on the Ravens, who reportedly signed the Vanderbilt quarterback to a three-year deal on Tuesday.

Pavia didn’t get to hear his name called during the 2026 NFL draft and made a bit of undesirable history as the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since 2014. Despite that unwanted blemish on his pro career, he’s set to get his shot in the NFL on the Ravens and will join starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley in the Baltimore QB room.

In the wake of Pavia’s UDFA signing, a video of him appearing to disrespect Jackson has resurfaced on social media. The video is from December 2025 around the time of the Heisman ceremony, when Pavia infamously took a profane shot at the Heisman voters after losing to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.

In the video, a reporter from Daily Mail Sport USA was doing a bracket challenge with Pavia and asked him who was the best college football player of all time, Johnny Manziel or Lamar Jackson.

Pavia thought about it for a second before leaning into the mic. “Neither,” he said. “Me.”

In Pavia’s defense, he didn’t seem to understand the premise of the question. This was a bracket challenge, not an open-ended question, and he was only supposed to pick one of the two choices. Even so, the Vanderbilt quarterback got roasted online as the video went viral—and his other post-Heisman antics didn’t help his case, either.

Like come on man https://t.co/XTRipWHD0Z pic.twitter.com/9GOYyQFU8f

— Woody (@woodyVSworld) December 13, 2025

Comparing Diego Pavia and Lamar Jackson’s college careers

From the beginning, Pavia’s football journey was an unorthodox one. He started off playing in junior college with the New Mexico Military Institute for two campaigns before joining New Mexico State for the 2022 season. He spent another two years with the Aggies, throwing for 39 touchdowns and 4,423 yards, and then decided to transfer to Vanderbilt to close out the final two seasons of his collegiate career (Pavia famously won an eligibility battle against the NCAA in which he was granted a sixth and final year).

There’s no doubt that Pavia enjoyed an impressive final season at Vanderbilt during which he led the Commodores to their first 10-win season in program history and second straight bowl berth. This is also the season that draws the best comparison to Jackson’s final campaign with Louisville in 2017.

Compared to Pavia’s non-traditional rise to the NFL, Jackson spent three seasons in Louisville (9,043 passing yards, 69 passing touchdowns, 4,132 passing yards, 50 rushing touchdowns) before making the jump to the pros following his junior ‘17 campaign. Across those three years, Jackson cemented himself as the program’s all-time greatest player in history, with the Cardinals later retiring his No. 8 jersey as well as erecting a statue in his honor.

Here’s a table of Pavia and Jackson’s side-by-side stats in their final respective collegiate seasons:

	Diego Pavia (2025)	Lamar Jackson (2017)
Games played (regular season)	13	13
Pass completion percentage	70.6%	59.1%
Passing yards	3,539 yards	3,660 yards
Passing TDs	29	27
Rushing yards	862 yards	1,601 yards
Rushing TDs	10	18
Heisman race	Runner-up	Finished third

Jackson does, of course, have a Heisman Trophy to his name from his remarkable 2016 season. Pavia does not. Jackson ended up getting drafted in the first round by the Ravens and has since earned three All-Pro honors and won two NFL MVPs over his eight-years-and-counting stint in Baltimore. It may be too early to tell, but we’d venture a guess that Pavia isn’t going to come close to Jackson’s growing list of pro accolades, though it will be intriguing to see how the Ravens’ quarterback room shakes out this offseason.

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