Where Diego Pavia Fits in Ravens’ QB Room and His Chances At Making the Roster

Baltimore has signed Pavia to a three-year deal after originally inviting him to their rookie minicamp. Can the former Vanderbilt quarterback make the team?

Diego Pavia signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Diego Pavia has officially found his NFL home.

After failing to hear his name called throughout the 2026 NFL draft—and originally drawing no interest on the undrafted free-agent market—Pavia accepted an invite to Ravens rookie minicamp on Sunday night. Just a few days later, however, Baltimore pivoted and signed the quarterback to a three-year contract ahead of what was expected to be a tryout. 

Now, Pavia will join the team’s 11-player draft class, fellow undrafted free agents and minicamp invitees at the team’s Owings Mills, Md., facilities for a three-day training session from May 1 to 3, before getting ready for the rest of the offseason program, veteran minicamp, and training camp. The Ravens also signed UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano to a three-year deal on Tuesday. 

MORE: After Going Undrafted, Diego Pavia Finally Has Next Step in NFL Career. Here’s What to Know.

The 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up to Raiders No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, Pavia threw for 3,539 yards last season while leading the SEC in completion percentage (70.6%), passing touchdowns (29) and passer rating (170.4). He also added 862 rushing yards and an additional 10 touchdowns on the ground.

The 24-year-old has now been given an equal opportunity to compete for a roster spot at the NFL level. Here’s his outlook in potentially earning one ahead of the 2026 season.

Where does Diego Pavia stand in the Ravens' quarterback room?

Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley make up the top half of the Ravens' quarterback room. | Jessica Rapfogel-Imagn Images

Both Pavia and Fagnano join a Ravens quarterback room currently manned by Lamar Jackson and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley. Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP and one of the league’s top signal-callers, has been a participant at the team’s voluntary offseason program this spring—where his attendance hasn’t exactly been a given in recent years—as he looks to help Baltimore make a splash in head coach Jesse Minter’s first season at the helm.

Huntley, meanwhile, is amid his third tour with the Ravens—having also made stops with the Browns and Dolphins—since signing with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2020. The former Utah Ute has started 11 games for Baltimore due to various injuries to Jackson, most recently going 2–0 in 2025 while completing a career-high 77.6% of his passes and throwing two touchdowns in five total appearances.

Here’s where Pavia and Fagnano currently stack up on the Ravens’ depth chart.

Ravens quarterback depth chart

Player	String
Lamar Jackson	Starter
Tyler Huntley	Backup
Joe Fagnano	UDFA signing
Diego Pavia	UDFA signing

The Ravens went to work today on their QB room with the additions of Joe Fagnano and Diego Pavia 👀 pic.twitter.com/mjFG3whq3v

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 28, 2026

With Pavia and Fagnano competing for the Ravens’ third quarterback spot—barring a surprise push past Huntley for the backup role—it should be noted that the odds are stacked against either of them ultimately making the team. Baltimore has carried three quarterbacks on its initial 53-man roster just once over the past five seasons (2023: Jackson, Huntley, and Josh Johnson), with only two making the cut in the other four years. 

That said, the Ravens will likely look to carry at least one signal caller on their practice squad—an important, developmental pipeline where Huntley uncoincidentally made a name for himself before earning his role as a backup. This is where Pavia vs. Fagnano comes into play. While we already know what we need to know about Pavia, Fagnano, too, brings an intriguing makeup to the table.

A 6’3” gunslinger from Williamsport, Pa., Fagnano played seven (!) collegiate football seasons at both FCS Maine (2019 to ’22) and FBS UConn (2023 to ’25), with this past campaign being his most impressive by far. Fagnano started 12 games for the Huskies in 2025, leading them to a 9–3 record and a berth in the Fenway Bowl while notching career highs in completion percentage (69.0%), passing yards (3,448), passing touchdowns (28) and passer rating (161.0). He also turned the football over just once and added three additional touchdowns on the ground.

Needless to say, it’s going to be a fun spring and summer watching him and Pavia compete in Baltimore.

What could Pavia bring to Baltimore’s offense?

Diego Pavia ran for over 800 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Should Pavia ultimately find himself on Baltimore’s final roster for the 2026 season, he could offer up an intriguing role, even with Jackson entrenched as the team’s starter. During his appearance on former NFL coach Jon Gruden’s QB Class earlier this spring, the idea of Pavia being a backup to begin his NFL career—while also being a contributor on offense right away—was brought up.

“Make a note, Taysom Hill,” Gruden told Pavia. “ … He’s a badass. Now what if [you go to a team and they say], ‘Okay we’ve got a starting quarterback right now. We’re going to teach you the offense and we’re going to bring you along in our system. But, we could use you, right away, with some of these Taysom Hill-like plays.’”

“Put me on the f—--- field.” Pavia interjected with a smile. “Hell yeah, put me on the field … as long as we’re winning, I don’t care.”

While this may seem redundant given that the Ravens already employ a dual-threat under center, Jackson and Pavia bring very different running styles to the table. Jackson is a much faster, sideline-to-sideline runner with breakaway speed, whereas Pavia is slower, but can offer a between-the-tackles, downhill presence. 

This could bode useful if Baltimore wants to take a load off of Jackson in the running game. After all, the 29-year-old missed four games due to injury in 2025 and tallied career lows in carries (67), rushing yards (349) and rushing touchdowns (2).

For what it’s worth, Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle spent four seasons as an offensive assistant with the Saints from 2019 to ’22, and saw up close what New Orleans was able to do with Hill in their offense. Perhaps he could try to implement a similar role for Pavia in Baltimore.

Either way, #PaviaWatch is officially on. We’ll wait and see if the former Vanderbilt Commodore has what it takes at the NFL level.

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