Could the Dallas Cowboys select Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik in the NFL Draft?
Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik put together a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, but it may not have been enough to boost his stock.
Klubnik is still generally viewed as a Day 3 pick in the NFL Draft, with some perceiving him as sixth or seventh-round fodder.
It has been quite the fall for Klubnik, who entered 2025 as a potential No. 1 overall pick and watched his stock torpedo thanks to a wholly disappointing campaign in which he threw for 2,943 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while also finishing with just 94 rushing yards.
Even with the 2026 draft class being very thin at quarterback, Klubnik is still landing some pretty rough projections, and in a recent seven-round mock draft, Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network had the 22-year-old landing toward the end of the fifth round.
More specifically, Infante projected the Dallas Cowboys to select Klubnik with the 180th overall pick, which wouldn't exactly be an ideal landing spot for the Clemson product given the presence of Dak Prescott and Joe Milton.
Plus, the Cowboys just signed Sam Howell, but in fairness to Infante, his mock draft was published just before NFL free agency.
Cade Klubnik. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.But is it possible that Dallas could consider Klubnik as a potential sleeper candidate on Day 3?
There will surely be some teams that view Klubnik as a great value pick in the middle to later rounds, much like the Cleveland Browns did with Shedeur Sanders last April. And look? Sanders is now the Browns' starter.
Perhaps the Cowboys will fall into that category, and it should be noted that Prescott does have an injury history, so there may be an opportunity for playing time there.
That being said, Dallas is certainly not the best long-term fit for Klubnik. There are definitely some teams that would offer better chances for Klubnik to start (like Cleveland and the New York Jets, for example), so he is surely hoping to land somewhere where there is a clear path to snaps.
Of course, Klubnik ultimately shot himself in the foot with such a poor showing in 2025, especially after such a fantastic junior campaign.
Had Klubnik entered the draft last year, he probably would have been a first-round pick.
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