FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets, in a perpetual search for a franchise quarterback, took a fourth-round flyer Saturday on Clemson’s Cade Klubnik.
Klubnik, coming off a disappointing season, was widely projected as a late-round prospect. The Jets saw him in a different light, trading up 18 spots to grab him at No. 110 overall on Day 3 of the NFL draft.
The Jets traded two fourth-round picks (128 and 140) to the Cincinnati Bengals, receiving a sixth-round choice (199) in return.
Klubnik joins a new-look quarterback room led by starter Geno Smith, 35, acquired in a low-cost trade with the Las Vegas Raiders in March. Also on the depth chart are journeyman Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook, who started four games last season.
Clemson’s third all-time leading passer is the 10th quarterback drafted by the Jets since 2010, tied with the New England Patriots for the most in the NFL. The previous quarterback picked by the Jets was former Florida State star Jordan Travis, a 2024 fifth-round choice who never played due to a college injury that forced his retirement from football.
“I’ve been a football fan for a long time, so I’m obviously very aware (of the Jets’ quarterback history),” Klubnik said on a zoom call with reporters. “But I’m excited to go to work. It’s a new staff, it’s a new program, it’s a new culture and it’s going to be a new roster. So let’s go to work.”
Klubnik was the fifth quarterback to be drafted, following Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck and Drew Allar. Klubnik said he expected to be picked in the third- to fourth-round range.
Before the 2025 season, he was considered a potentially high draft pick, but he struggled during a difficult season for the Clemson program. Klubnik, who passed for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2024, saw his numbers drop to 2,943 and 16 in 2025. The Tigers finished 7-6, their worst season since 2010.
He didn’t want to rehash last season.
“I think it was just a lot of little things that were kind of going wrong, but honestly, I don’t really want to get into that, to be honest,” he said. “I’m just celebrating being a Jet now, if that’s all right with you. But I’m thankful for this past year. It wasn’t how I wanted to go out, but I’m thankful for it because I learned how to really attack adversity.”
That should prepare him well for the Jets, who have endured 10 straight losing seasons and haven’t produced a Pro Bowl quarterback since Brett Favre in 2008. They have three first-round picks in 2027, which could set them up nicely if they want to make a bold move next year for a blue-chip quarterback.
Klubnik spoke confidently about his ability, saying, “I think my accuracy is where I kind of make my money, being able to put the ball wherever I want to put it and really just go win football games. Find a way to go in football games.”
He mentioned that he was a three-time state high school champion in Texas and that he won two ACC championships at Clemson, where he was a five-star recruit out of Wesklake High School In Austin, Texas – the same school that produced Hall of Famer Drew Brees.
“I think that I found out how to be a winner, especially after this past year,” said referencing Clemson’s 3-5 start. “I’ve been winning a long time.”
Klubnik said he had multiple meetings with Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich throughout the pre-draft process. Shortly after being picked, he asked Reich to send him the Jets’ playbook.
“I’m so excited to go to work and excited to go show everybody who Cade Klunbik is,” he said. “I think my best ball’s ahead of me.”
