標籤: undrafted

During the 2025 college football season, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was easily one of the best players on the field. He not only won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation’s top elite QB in college football, but he also finished as a Heisman finalist.

Still, when it came to evaluating Pavia’s prospects, many thought the 5-foot-10 QB would not be drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. They were right.

A total of 257 players were selected across the three-day event, but not Pavia. After the NFL Draft ended on Saturday, the race to sign him as an undrafted free agent began.

Yet, unlike hundreds of others who have already signed contracts, Pavia have taken a different path.

He has already agreed to participate in the Ravens’ rookie minicamp this weekend. However, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “if the Ravens don’t sign him other teams may also want to bring him in.”

Whatever happens, Pavia faces a tough road ahead. For now, he will compete for a chance to become the Ravens’ third-line QB behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. Still, there may be more opportunities to come if things don’t work out well this weekend.

Pavia threw for 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season, while completing 70.6% of his passes. Pavia threw for another 862 yards and 10 touchdowns as a runner, demonstrating dual-threat ability. But he was in college; He still needs to prove himself in the NFL.

RELATED: 2026 NFL Power Rankings: Evaluating the worst, best teams after the NFL Draft

Dedicated NFL copywriter/editor. My work has been found on SportsNut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports… More about Andrew Buller-Russ

With Kansas being eliminated in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, the focus has now turned to the NBA Draft for star freshman Darrin Peterson. Peterson is not expected to be a top-two pick in the upcoming draft, but former NBA player Jeff Teague believes Peterson’s hype is not what it seems.

During a recent episode of the ‘Club 52 Podcast,’ Jeff Teague voiced his opinion that Darrin Peterson is no better than Portland Trail Blazers rookie Caleb Love, an opinion that will definitely turn many heads.

“It’s no disrespect, and I think Darrin Peterson is a great player. I think he’s cool. But I think I could get another two-guard, it’s no disrespect, but Caleb Love can give me the same as Darrin Peterson,” Teague said. “That’s not the point, Darrin Peterson can get you 25 per game, but Caleb Love can give me 15-16.”

Teague further stated that he was not convinced there was a better NBA draft prospect than someone like Darrin Peterson, Benedict Mathurin. And before that, Teague also suggested he would draft Duke’s Cameron Boozer in place of Peterson.

Teague is right to say that Caleb Love has had an incredible rookie season with the Blazers after going undrafted and signing a two-way contract. Love has appeared in 45 games as a rookie, including one start, averaging a little over 22 minutes per game. He averaged 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists with splits of 39 percent shooting from the field, 32.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 73.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Love projects to reach his NBA ceiling as a strong scoring guard off a team’s bench, while draft experts view Peterson as a franchise cornerstone type of player. Only time will tell how Peterson performs in the NBA, though.

As the Miami Heat focused on restarting the season after the All-Star break, some business was done with the team, giving an undrafted standout a standard contract. Although the Heat are dealing with an inconsistent season, some standout things have happened, one of which is a two-way player in Myron Gardner who has been rewarded for his efforts.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Gardner and Miami have agreed to a standard three-year contract because he has played well as a two-way player. This contract now fills Miami’s 15th roster spot, which could be the maximum spot for a team, although a two-way opening has been cleared.

The other two-way player spots have been filled by Vladislav Goldin and Jahmir Young, as Gardner has recently seen expanded minutes under head coach Erik Spoelstra, especially due to some injuries the team has suffered. Gardner has started four times for the team, averaging 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from three-point range.

In addition to his ability on the court, Gardner is known for the physicality, personality and energy he brings to the Heat, with Norman Powell explaining how beneficial this has been to him.

“Myron is a character. I love Myron. He’s always high energy, high octane,” Powell told ClutchPoints on January 18. “He’s always hitting and hitting you; it’s always a positive energy, positive light that comes from him. I’m encouraging everybody. Everybody around him is laughing and joking. But when he steps out there, he’s 125%, 150% every time. And we need that.”

Asked Norman Powell about the influence of Myron Gardner:

“Myron is a character, I love Myron. He’s always high energy, high octane… He’s encouraging everybody, everybody around him is laughing and joking, but when he steps out there, he’s 125%, 150% every time…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/2Ufy8RSgU1

– Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 18 January 2026

Heat’s Bam Adebayo needs teammates like Myron Gardner

As Gardner continues to anchor the Heat throughout the remainder of the season, he is doing the same with the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Active on the glass and making his presence felt, the 24-year-old has already earned respect from Miami, with captain Bam Adebayo emphasizing his important role.

“You need teammates like him, like throw him in the game, and he’ll play as hard as he can. But when Myron checks into the game, you feel a difference right away,” Adebayo said on Jan. 21.

Bam Adebayo on the “kid energy” that Myron Gardner has after a standout performance:

“I can’t describe Myron, but you need teammates like him. Throw him in the game and he’ll play as hard as possible.. When Myron checks into the game, you immediately feel a difference…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/h8RR8FaOqx

– Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 18 January 2026

At any rate, Gardner wants to be a part of helping the Heat turn their season around, which has them at 29-27, placing them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference as their next game is on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.