Diego Paz, a 23-year-old athlete from A Coruña, Spain, is pursuing a career in the National Football League after transitioning from track and field to American football. Standing 1.93 meters tall and weighing 120 kilograms, Paz has participated in an NFL campus and aims to reach the league by the April 2027 draft.
Before discovering American football in 2022, Paz focused on athletics and hurdle events. At age 16, he had the level to be among the athletes training at the CAR de Madrid with Jesús Álvarez, including Sergio Fernández, who had broken the Spanish record for 400 hurdles at the Rio Olympic Games. Paz clocked under 50 seconds without obstacles in the lap of the track during his early training years.
Paz Played for European Clubs Before Joining Rhein Fire
Paz entered the sport after accompanying a friend to a tryout with the Black Demonds. His subsequent club career included stints with the Barcelona Dragons, where he was cut, followed by spells in Finland with the Seinäjoki Crocodiles and Helsinki Wolverines, where he won the championship and also finished second. After returning to Spain with the Madrid Bravos, he moved to Germany to play for Rhein Fire, where he has led the sack statistic.
NFL Campus Experience
To attract attention from professional scouts without playing college football in the United States, Paz utilized social media platforms to share videos, drawing inspiration from Maceo Beard. This digital portfolio helped him secure an invitation to an NFL campus. During the evaluation, medical staff recorded his measurements and wingspan before conducting explosiveness tests and physical examinations.
Paz Aims for Professional Football in America
Despite bulking up to 120 kilograms, Paz maintains a 40-yard dash time of 4.6 seconds, a metric aided by his sprinting background. While evaluating his performance at the campus, he noted areas for improvement while affirming his goal of playing professional football in America, whether through the NFL draft or alternative leagues.
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