The weekend is here, finally. And with it, Day Two of the NFL Combine is in the books, with Day Three up tomorrow. And the on-field workouts of the quarterbacks will commence on Saturday, where one of the most polarizing prospects will take the field.
Diego Pavia, formerly of the Vanderbilt Commodores, will have the chance to show what he's made of in front of NFL decision makers. While he has two seasons of SEC level football behind him, there are still a lot of questions about his size and ability to succeed at the NFL level.
In comments during the media sessions on Friday, Pavia made it clear that he doesn't care what people say about him, and even took it a step further in accusing the media of generating 'clickbait' through their continued criticisms directed at him.
While Pavia indicated he will let his play on the field do the talking on Saturday, when he will throw at the combine, he should take a warning from past quarterbacks that have displayed dismissive attitudes at the NFL's biggest showcase for draft prospects.
Cautionary tale from the 2025 Draft should be a warning to Pavia
One only needs to look back a year ago to see a similar situation that Pavia should take note of during the NFL Combine.
Shedeur Sanders mailed it in a year ago in one-on-one interviews with teams at the NFL Combine, and it cost him dearly - he fell from a Top Five prospect to the fifth round, with multiple reports that he was disinterested throughout the process.
Diego Pavia isn't rated nearly as high as Sanders was, but a similar slide would put him out of the draft altogether.
And for Pavia, who is currently projected as a late round pick (between the fifth and seventh rounds), who has small size, is older (24), and played two seasons of Power Four football, the difference in style points at the combine could be the difference in being drafted, or not.
What Pavia calls confidence, others call arrogance. And immaturity is something that NFL scouts can sniff from a mile away. They saw it with Sanders, and will definitely see it in Pavia if it's real, and not just 'clickbait' from the media.
So Diego Pavia had better perform on Saturday, in the quarterback drills, because that might be his best chance to make us forget his public gaffes, impress NFL teams, and fulfill his dream of making it to the next level.