Remember when Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik was considered a top NFL Draft prospect?
Entering the 2025 college football season, Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik was viewed as one of the top signal-callers in the nation and one of the most prominent prospects heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
And why not, right? After all, Klubnik totaled 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 63.4 percent of his throws in 2024 while also rushing for 463 yards and seven scores.
However, Klubnik's stock has dropped like a rock in 2025, as he has thrown for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five picks while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. He has managed just 95 yards and three scores on the ground, averaging a measly 1.4 yards per carry.
It's hard to figure what exactly happened to Klubnik this season, but now, it's looking like he should have entered the NFL Draft last season.
Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus recently ranked the quarterbacks for the 2026 draft, and he had Klubnik placed 10th.
Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Credit: Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images."Klubnik brings a winner's mentality, supported by consistent success at the high school and college levels. When his mechanics are clean, he's an easy watch. But as a pro prospect, he faces natural limitations tied to his size," Sikkema wrote. "His lack of height forces him to stand on his toes and shortens his follow-through, affecting his placement. He has enough arm talent, but it often requires full-body effort. If he can become more consistent fundamentally, especially on the run, he is an intriguing athletic passer."
Size is not a be-all-end-all deterrent for quarterbacks. Just ask Drew Brees, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. Plus, it's not like Klubnik is that small, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 210 pounds. But his massive dropoff in production this year is what's most concerning.
Klubnik is far from the only quarterback who has disappointed in 2025. Just ask Arch Manning, who, while he has performed much better lately, has absolutely not lived up to expectations.
The difference is that Manning can return to Texas in 2026. Klubnik, on the other hand, is out of eligibility, so he must head into the NFL Draft next spring.
Klubnik has gone from looking like a first-round lock to a potential mid-round pick, which is not what anyone anticipated heading into 2025.