Diego Pavia could be NFL's shortest QB since 1960s

Field Level Media
31 Jan 2026, 21:10 GMT+10

(Photo credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images)

Quarterback Diego Pavia measured 5-foot-9 and 7/8 inches tall at the Senior Bowl, falling far short of the generous 6-foot height listed this season by Vanderbilt.

If the 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up and 2026 draft prospect makes it to the NFL, he would become the league's shortest signal-caller since the 1960s.

Pavia is shorter than the Carolina Panthers' Bryce Young and Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray (both measured 5-foot-10 and 1/8 inches before they were drafted). He's even shorter than the 5-10 Doug Flutie, the poster boy for vertically challenged quarterbacks.

According to the heights listed by Pro Football Reference, 5-foot-9 Eddie LeBaron was the last QB under 5-foot-10 to play in the NFL. The four-time Pro Bowl selection made 85 starts with the Washington franchise (1952-53, 1955-59) and Dallas Cowboys (1960-63).

Pavia was the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Player of the Year this season and finished second in the Heisman voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Pavia completed 70.6% of his passes for 3,539 yards with 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 13 starts for the Commodores, adding 862 yards and 10 scores on the ground.

Although his stature certainly will raise red flags in NFL draft rooms, Pavia has not lost any of his trademark swagger.

'I'm the best player in the country,' he said this week when asked what he was trying to prove to NFL scouts and coaches at Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

'You get me, you get someone who is a winner, a competitor, a leader, and someone who doesn't take no for an answer.'

--Field Level Media

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