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With the 110th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik in the fourth round. He was the fifth quarterback taken.
The Jets traded up with the Cincinnati Bengals to draft Klubnik, with the Bengals acquiring the 128th and 140th picks from the Jets in exchange for Nos. 110 and 199.
Klubnik, a three-year starter at Clemson, entered his senior season in 2025 as a Heisman Trophy contender but had a difficult year. The Tigers went from an expected College Football Playoff team to the losers of six games, and Klubnik threw just 16 touchdowns (his fewest in a season as a starter) against six interceptions. He finished the 2025 season with 257-of-392 passing for 2,943 yards and 20 fewer touchdowns than he threw as a junior in 2024.
The Tigers struggled to get into a consistent offensive rhythm in 2025, and Klubnik’s draft stock might have paid the price.
Still, he exited Clemson with more than 10,000 career passing yards and was effective as a runner, rushing with 878 yards over 49 career games and 40 career starts. His 916 completions are a program record, and his 10,123 passing yards rank third in school history behind only Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Klubnik ranked No. 202 on Dane Brugler’s big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“Klubnik is a smooth-twitch athlete with the arm talent to make big-time throws, but his inconsistent pocket presence and urgency reading the field need to be addressed. Projecting as a backup, he would benefit from a rollout, rhythm-based passing game to help open throwing lanes.”
Nick Baumgardner’s assessment
It’s not a total shock to see Klubnik be selected ahead of LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. I like Nussmeier better and am surprised he wasn’t drafted Friday. At the same time, Klubnik does have some starting NFL traits. He’s a good-sized quarterback with a strong arm and plenty of athleticism. He could outperform his slot. He could also be a guy who just doesn’t make it, and if he doesn’t turn a corner soon, it’ll be a struggle. I liked Nussmeier better.
How he fits
The Jets had always planned to take a quarterback at some point in this class — but never one they planned to start. The idea was to find a developmental project in hopes that they could have a long-term backup on hand. They found their target for that job on Saturday in Klubnik, even though going with him over some of the other available quarterbacks was a bit of a surprise. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler graded him as a fifth- or sixth-round prospect.
Drafting Klubnik might have been a reach, but the Jets clearly see traits worth developing in him. He was viewed as a potential Day 1 or 2 quarterback prospect after his junior season, but he fell off in 2025. He’s a quality athlete who rushed for 463 yards as a junior and ran a 4.69-second 40-yard dash at Clemson’s pro day. He’s a 6-2, 207-pound QB who does well off-platform. Most experts project him as a backup.
Depth-chart impact
Geno Smith is locked in as the Jets’ starter for 2026, but he isn’t under contract beyond this season. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Brady Cook, who struggled in five starts as an undrafted rookie last year, and Bailey Zappe, a former starter for the Patriots. The Jets looked into adding other backup options this offseason, including Carson Wentz and Andy Dalton, but they wound up elsewhere.
The Jets could still re-sign Tyrod Taylor to be the No. 2, or look into free-agent Cooper Rush.
They also could have picked …
Nussmeier felt like the better prospect for the Jets. A couple of other projects — North Dakota State’s Cole Payton and Arkansas’ Taylen Green — were intriguing because of their athleticism, but they have a lot of development ahead of them. Still, Nussmeier appeared to have a higher ceiling than Klubnik, plus the ability to be a fun quarterback worth developing, even if he is a bit undersized.
Fast evaluation
This is the first pick the Jets made in this draft that didn’t make a lot of sense based on where they selected Klubnik. Ultimately, if the Jets feel like he could become a quality backup quarterback, it’s hard to criticize the team’s decision. But there were other prospects at other positions worth considering, and the Jets gave up an extra fourth to add Klubnik. Time will tell if it was worth it.
