The Jets had four top 50 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft but opted not to use any of them on a quarterback, despite this being an obvious long-term need. Most analysts agreed that this draft was light on viable quarterback prospects that would be worthy of a high draft pick, and so the Jets reverted to an offseason plan that involved bringing in veteran Geno Smith as a stop-gap.
With three first-round picks in a 2027 draft that promises to have a much-larger pool of NFL-ready prospects at the quarterback position, the Jets are expected to defer their search for a quarterback of the future until next April. However, they did make one move at the position.
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In the fourth round, the Jets packaged together two late-fourth round picks to move up and select Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik with the 110th overall pick. This could have just been to fill out their quarterback room and develop a youngster to be a potential backup option. However, is there any hope that he could become someone capable of competing for a starting role?
For any quarterback to be available on Day 3 suggests that the league doesn’t view them as someone who has a high ceiling or is close to being ready to contribute immediately. In Klubnik’s case, he was selected much higher than anticipated with some analysts having him ranked outside their top 10 quarterback prospects this year. As it turned out, he was the fifth quarterback selected, with the move up suggesting the Jets believed he would have been off the board if they waited until their next pick.
Judging by the backstage reactions to the pick, the Jets may be hoping they saw something in Klubnik that most of the rest of the league missed. New offensive coordinator Frank Reich looked particularly thrilled to be getting to work with the youngster and passing game coordinator Seth Ryan is already familiar with him, having played at Clemson for four years and maintained relationships with their coaching staff since that time.
Twelve months ago, Klubnik was coming off a season where he was third in the nation with 36 touchdown passes, while also rushing for almost 500 yards and seven touchdowns, and throwing just six interceptions. Another season like that would have earned him legitimate buzz as a possible first-round pick, but his statistical production fell off in 2025, as the Tigers posted their worst record since 2010.
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Klubnik lacks ideal size and a monster arm, and never fully lived up to his potential as the top quarterback prospect in the nation coming out of high school. However, even in his less-successful seasons, his numbers were never that bad, and there’s a suggestion that injuries played a part in his 2025 regression.
An increasingly common theme in recent seasons at the NFL level has been for high draft picks at the quarterback position to initially struggle, but then break out several years later. Former Jets Sam Darnold and Smith himself are good examples of this, as is Baker Mayfield.
In a similar vein, is it possible that a top high school prospect who was not as successful as expected in college could actually be a better NFL prospect than previously believed, on the basis that they always had the talent but just took a little longer to develop for whatever reason?
While this isn’t that common, there are a few examples of this happening in recent years, including to the likes of Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins. Others such as Davis Mills and Tyrod Taylor have had a few shots at starting but ultimately ended up in the kind of career backup/fringe starter role that is probably viewed as Klubnik’s ceiling by most analysts.
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Clearly the rookie has a good attitude and has made a positive impression on the Jets. He’s a good athlete and gained plenty of valuable experience at Clemson, even if he didn’t always live up to his potential. Over the next 12 months, he might not get an opportunity to see meaningful action with the Jets, but he can still learn a lot from the likes of Ryan, Smith and Reich.
By this time next year, we’ll perhaps have a better idea if Klubnik has a viable shot at competing for a major role in 2027 and beyond. It would be extremely surprising if he can show enough between now and then to prevent a first-round rookie from also being part of that competition. However, New York can continue to hope he can exceed expectations in the long run.
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