Breaking down the three way battle for the Ravens QB3 position

Despite all the shade thrown at Lamar Jackson by various media pundits this summer, he is still the greatest dual threat quarterback of all-time. And no matter how unflattering some of the preseason individual player rankings might be to Jackson, he is still a two-time league MVP.

While his 2025 season did not live up to expectations, he is still the Baltimore Ravens QB1 and face of the franchise; period. Tyler "Snoop" Huntley is the backup; that's also etched in stone.

The Ravens quarterback depth chart doesn't get debatable until we reach the third slot, where we have three contenders: Diego Pavia, Joe Fagnano and Skylar Thompson. That is in no particular order, because this specific place on the team sheet is very much up for grabs.

It is so up for grabs that we don't even know if the Ravens will carry a third quarterback on the main, active roster. In recent years they have only carried two, leaving the emergency quarterback position to a guy on the practice squad.

It's possible that whomever the coaching staff deems the most worthy, among the triad of Pavia, Fagnano and Thompson, actually begins the season on the practice squad.

We start with Pavia, because his status as the Heisman runner-up in 2025 grants him the most name recognition of the trio. That's both good and bad. Pavia has said and done a lot of things that rub a lot of people the wrong way, but that all gets overlooked if you can really play.

If you really can't play, well, then that's a problem. Funny how the NFL works. If a guy's truly got game, then his personality is "colorful" and "quirky." If he's not that good a player, well those same personality traits make him "polarizing" and "a locker room distraction."

Pavia went undrafted, despite all his eye-popping statistics, so he faces an uphill climb. Detractors point to his height, but there is much more working against them than just his measurables. Some of the off-the-field things with him actually got a bit cringe, and it's harder to get away with that when you're the quarterback. 

At a different position, sure, maybe you can overlook some of that stuff, but as the field general, you need the utmost respect of all your teammates. 

Next we move on to the favorite in this derby, Thompson, who has previous NFL experience. He's been in the league for the past four seasons, however he only saw action in 2022 and 2024, when he was with the Miami Dolphins.

He didn't play much, and his statistics (<60% pass completion, 1-3 TD:INT, 1-2 as a starter, 66.1 passer rating) aren't impressive. Still he has a major edge in experience over the two other candidates, and the 29-year-old's extra seasoning might make the difference in making the cut.

Of course, everything could change entirely during training camp, but for right now, he's the safe pick. 

Finallly, we get to Fagnano, who is a rookie at age 25. In looking at his football CV, we can't help but think of the mid-'90s comedy Tommy Boy. You might remember this timeless exchange between Chris Farley (Tommy Callahan) and David Spade (Richard Hayden)

Callahan: “A lot of people go to college for 7 years”

Hayden: “I know, they’re called doctors.”

Yes, Fagnano (who was an undrafted free agent like Pavia) did actually play seven years of college football. His first four were at the FCS level with Maine, and he then finished up at the FBS level with UConn. 

What he did in Storrs was pretty unbelievable because UConn is definitely a pure basketball school; with little to no football tradition. His last two years at UConn he went 13-4 as a starter, and that's amazing given how the Huskies do not win a whole lot. 

His individual stats pop off the page as well, with a 28-1 TD:INT ratio last season, and a 48:6 TD:INT mark for his three seasons at the FBS level. He also completed 69% of his passes last season, and it's clear that his collegiate career went on a positive trajectory. 

Fagnano has gotten better whenever he's leveled up, so do not count him out. 

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Breaking down the three way battle for the Ravens QB3 position