After once being mocked as the No. 1 overall pick, Cade Klubnik will look to prove doubters wrong with the Jets.
Mock drafts and predictions are all but moot, especially when they’re several years out, and that was sort of what happened to Clemson Tigers’ Cade Klubnik, who sat atop the 2026 mock drafts in some early editions. He was ultimately selected No. 110 overall in the fourth round by the New York Jets. The dramatic fall illustrated how quickly quarterback hype can evaporate in college football when a guy has a bad year.
Klubnik was touted as the consensus No. 1 overall pick in early mocks back in 2025, which was fueled largely by his 336 yards, three-touchdown performance against the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff that year. Unfortunately, his follow up season fell dramatically below expectations in 2025. Klubnik only put up 2,943 yards and 16 touchdowns for the 7-6 Tigers in 2025. In contrast, he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns the season prior.
That had some draft evaluators predicting an even further fall, and every Clemson skill players was being dragged down alongside it. Ultimately, however, the Jets decided to take a shot and traded up 18 spots in the fourth round to snag Klubnik. Notably, it was the franchise’s largest same-day, picks-for-picks move in history. But it places Klubnik inside a troubling trend for New York of Day 3 quarterbacks. Their last flyer was on Jordan Travis in 2024, who was one of four in their last seven drafted to never even attempt an NFL pass.
To read more on Klubnik and what to expect from the rookie in New York, here is the full story from Jets Roundtable writer Dylan Feltovich.
Now, Klubnik has drawn comparisons to a great quarterback, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy. But it’s incredibly hard to hit on a Day 3 quarterback as a franchise starter.