ESPN draft expert reveals how Jets' Cade Klubnik went from top QB prospect to fourth-round pick

Heading into the 2026 NFL Draft, it was fairly obvious that the New York Jets were going to add a quarterback at some point. The only question was when and which one?

At the start of Day 3 of the draft, the Jets traded two fourth-round picks, No. 128 and No. 140, to the Cincinnati Bengals to move up to pick No. 110, giving themselves the opportunity to select Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Klubnik is an interesting prospect. He was one of the top-rated quarterbacks coming out of high school and carried that pedigree with him to Clemson. But after a frustrating final season, he slid all the way down to the fourth round in the 2026 draft.

This time last year, ESPN's Jordan Reid had Klubnik as the prospective No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. What happened between now and then?

Matt Miller explains Jets draft pick Cade Klubnik's fall from grace

In an interview with Rich Cimini, ESPN's Matt Miller revealed how Klubnik went from No. 1 overall pick material all the way down to Day 3.

"It was never that he was Caleb Williams or Trevor Lawrence -- he was never that type of prospect -- but you were projecting what we saw against Texas in the CFP was actually who he was going to be. But Clemson regressed across the board. Every player except Blake Miller (first round, Detroit Lions) saw their stock drop."

Matt Miller

Klubnik's hype stemmed from his incredibly impressive 2024 season. He threw for 3,639 yards, tossed 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions, and led Clemson to the College Football Playoff.

He took a tumble in 2025, along with the rest of the Clemson football team. In his final season of college football, all of his stats were markedly worse, except for his completion percentage, which went from 63% to 65%.

But all hope is not lost for the young signal caller. Miller (hesitantly) compared him to the likes of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, thanks to his extensive starting experience.

"There is a track record of taking highly experienced college players and letting them play. You hate to make the Purdy comparison because it's so overused at this point, but if there's going to be a Purdy in this year's class, it's going to be Klubnik because of the experience, the athletic ability, the arm and the situation."

Matt MIller

The Jets would love for Klubnik to turn out like Purdy. It's not like they've really hit on a quarterback draft pick in nearly 60 years.

We'll see if Klubnik can live up to the hype he generated at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

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