Dec 7, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) drops to throw during the first quarter against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the 2024 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Cade Klubnik QB Clemson |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #2 PLAY STYLE: Mobile Pocket Passer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 02/07/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.69 seconds (78%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 22.10 DOB: 10/10/2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Invite: Shrine Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #2 | |
| PLAY STYLE: Mobile Pocket Passer | |
| Last Updated: 02/07/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.69 seconds (78%*) | |
| Age: 22.10 DOB: 10/10/2003 | |
| Bowl Invite: Shrine Bowl | |
| Overall Rating: | 83.2 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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77% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Release Speed: |
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84% |
| Short Passing: |
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77% |
| Medium Passing: |
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82% |
| Long Passing: |
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90% |
| Rush/Scramble: |
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61% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
5th
Overall Rank:
#137
Position rank:
#5 (QB)
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| College Games: 46 College Snaps: 2767 | ||
ESPN RATING: 87/100
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247 RATING: 98/100
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RIVALS RATING: 6.1 (100%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quinn Ewers - Texas |
|
83% |
| Michael Pratt - Tulane |
|
83% |
| Clayton Tune - Houston |
|
82% |
Drafted: ROUND: 4 - Pick Number: 110 (NYJ)
Draft Profile: Bio
Before he ever suited up in orange, Cade Klubnik was already building a resume that most Texas high school quarterbacks can only dream about. Growing up in Austin and playing at Westlake High School, the same program that produced Drew Brees and Nick Foles, Klubnik guided the Chaparrals to three consecutive state championships from 2019 to 2021. He never lost a game as a starter, going 27-0 over his final two seasons while compiling an absurd 86-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio through the air with another 31 scores on the ground. A track athlete who won the 400-meter state title as a sophomore, Klubnik was a consensus five-star prospect ranked as the top quarterback in the country by Rivals and Sports Illustrated. He earned Elite 11 MVP honors in the summer of 2021 and threw two touchdown passes in the All-American Bowl before enrolling early at Clemson in January 2022.Klubnik's college career has been defined by flashes of brilliance wrapped in stretches of inconsistency. He played sparingly as a true freshman in 2022 but turned heads when he came off the bench in the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, completing 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards and earning MVP honors. He made his first career start in the Orange Bowl against No. 6 Tennessee, throwing for 320 yards. As the full-time starter beginning in 2023, he was steady if unspectacular, completing 290 of 454 passes for 19 touchdowns and nine picks while leading Clemson to a 9-4 finish and a comeback Gator Bowl win over Kentucky. Then came 2024, the season that put him on the national radar in a major way. Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns against just six interceptions, added seven rushing scores, led Clemson to the ACC Championship, and earned a College Football Playoff berth. He torched Appalachian State with a 277.9 passer rating, hit a game-winning 50-yard rushing touchdown at Pitt, and threw four touchdowns in the ACC title game against SMU to become the third player in history to win multiple ACC Championship Game MVP awards.
Expectations soared heading into 2025. Klubnik entered his senior year as a Heisman Trophy favorite with Clemson ranked in the top five nationally. The season that followed told a much different story. The Tigers stumbled to a 3-5 start before rallying to finish 7-5, and Klubnik's numbers reflected the turbulence: 2,943 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions across 12 starts. There were still moments of magic, like a near-perfect 22-of-24 performance at North Carolina with four touchdowns, and a career-high 385 yards against Duke, but the consistency that scouts needed to see simply was not there. He finished his Clemson career third in program history in passing yards with 10,123 and first all-time in completions with 916. Along the way, he became just the fifth Tiger quarterback to start 40 career games and the fourth to surpass 11,000 yards of total offense. Klubnik earned his marketing degree in December 2025 and declared for the draft shortly after a final game against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Compact, quick-trigger release that gets the ball out in a hurry, with the ability to vary arm slots and still maintain accuracy on rhythm throws across the short and intermediate levels.
- Exceptional touch on the deep ball, particularly on posts and seam routes where he drops the football over defenders with a high arc that gives his receivers every chance to run under it.
- Operates at his best working off play action and RPO concepts, where he reads second-level defenders with patience and attacks the voids their false steps create with real conviction.
- Straight-line speed is legit for the position, evidenced by a 4.6/7 forty and a track background that shows up on designed quarterback runs and scramble situations where he can turn the corner.
- Pocket awareness stands out on tape, particularly his ability to sense interior pressure without seeing it, using subtle body movements and shoulder fakes to slide away from collapsing edges and keep his eyes downfield.
- Dominant throwing to the sideline against Cover 3, especially on back-shoulder fades and comeback routes where his ball placement consistently puts receivers in position to make the catch away from leverage.
- Showed real growth in his ability to attack man coverage with anticipation, throwing receivers open rather than waiting for separation, and ripping confident glance RPOs even when his targets were not helping him out.
- Toughness is not a question mark. He played behind a below-average offensive line for much of his career, took significant hits, and kept showing up. Teammates voted him a permanent captain for a reason.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Post-snap processing speed remains a real concern, as he too often locks onto his pre-snap read and gets caught flat-footed when the coverage rotates after the ball is snapped.
- Downfield arm strength has a ceiling that will be tested at the next level, and receivers have to slow down on nine routes, which closes windows that NFL corners will not leave open.
- Mechanical consistency with his lower half comes and goes; when his feet get sloppy, his platform suffers, velocity fades, and throws spray high, particularly when he is on the move.
- Tendency to trust his legs over his arm in clean pocket situations, checking the ball down or pulling it to run when there is room to push throws downfield and let receivers work.
- Protection calls and pre-snap command at the line of scrimmage were largely ineffective at Clemson, and his hot-route answers against pressure looked underdeveloped throughout his career.
Scouting Report: Summary
Watch Klubnik's 2024 season and you will see a quarterback who looked like he was building toward a top-20 pick. The release is fast, the ball comes out with touch, and when the offense is clicking on schedule, he can shred coverage with the kind of timing and placement that NFL coordinators draw up on the whiteboard. The problem is that 2024 did not carry over into 2025, and the gap between his ceiling and his floor widened at the worst possible time. What you are betting on with Klubnik is the version of him that carved up defenses in the ACC Championship and put up five touchdown passes in a half against Appalachian State, not the one who could not sustain it against better competition in his final year.Schematically, Klubnik fits best in a system that leans heavily on play action, boots, and RPOs to simplify his reads and get him throwing on the move to his right, where his accuracy is at its sharpest. He is not a quarterback you hand a full-field concept and say "go find it." He needs structure, a creative play-caller, and a scheme that keeps the defense guessing with run fakes and misdirection to create the layered windows he thrives in. A West Coast or Shanahan-style offense that prioritizes timing, movement, and getting the ball out quickly would mask some of his limitations as a processor while letting his release speed and ball placement do the heavy lifting. His athleticism adds a wrinkle as a runner, but do not build the offense around his legs; the play-extension ability may not translate fully against NFL-caliber pass rushers who close space faster than anything he saw in the ACC.
Here is the deal with Klubnik: the talent is there, but the tape is a mixed bag and the 2025 regression raises legitimate questions about whether the breakout in 2024 was the real version or the outlier. He is the kind of quarterback who needs time, needs the right staff, and needs to develop his ability to read zone rotations and work deeper into progressions before he can compete for meaningful snaps. There is enough arm talent, enough competitiveness, and enough athletic ability to justify the investment as a developmental piece who sits behind a veteran and learns. If the processing catches up to the physical tools, you might have something. But banking on that leap requires patience, and the margin for error with a player built like this at the next level is thin.
Written By:
FELIX GREEN (ACC)
Cade Klubnik percentiles vs other Quarterbacks (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Cade Klubnik (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
168.8
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
16.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.