The New York Jets will not treat former Clemson star Cade Klubnik like a fourth-round pick.
The New York Jets selected former Clemson star Cade Klubnik with the 110th overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Klubnik will compete with Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe for the Jets' No. 2 QB spot and New York head coach Aaron Glenn and his staff plan to "push the envelope" with Klubnik.
"[He's] a really smart man, so I don't think he's swimming as much as you probably think he is, and that's a lot because of the way the coaches are teaching them," Glenn said about Klubnik. "But listen, we're going to push the envelope with that player and see exactly where he's at and how he's going to be able to operate with our offense."
Klubnik finished the 2025 college football season with 2,943 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns. He put up 10,123 passing yards and 73 passing touchdowns in his Clemson career.
"Felt really good about Cade," Jets GM Darren Mougey said. "It started obviously last year, evaluating all those quarterbacks going into this year. We had good grades on Cade going in this year, and then, you're watching this year, he got hurt early, and was playing hurt much of the year, and that team kind of struggled, but was excited to get around him at the combine.
"Had a great combine interview, which kind of sparked us to want to get down to Clemson and work him out and spend some more time within and we went down there, and again, it was a great exposure. Being there on campus [along with OC Frank Reich] with him in the room talking ball, felt very natural. Felt like there was a connection there. Getting on the field, doing the workout, [he] showed well. So felt really good about Cade, a young player that has a lot of experience, you know, played a lot of snaps in high school, 30-0 record in Texas [Westlake HS in Austin], went to Clemson as a young, I think, 17-year-old, three-year starter at Clemson won a lot of games there. Unfortunately, had a down year this year, but still, young, athletic with some upside, and feel really good about being able to get him."
Entering the 2025 college football season, Klubnik was projected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 draft, but since he and Clemson struggled, Klubnik's draft stock was damaged.
Even though his draft fall was significant, Klubnik still has a lot of confidence in his game.
"In my mind, I'm a winner," Klubnik said Saturday at the Jets' rookie minicamp. "I don't mean that in a boastful way. I think that's the mentality you have to have as a quarterback, and I think that my résumé has kind of showed that as well."
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