ESPN dove into the top 10 quarterback prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft, assessing why each one could succeed – or why each could fail at the next level.
Among the signal-callers that ESPN’s Bill Connelly broke down is Clemson’s Cade Klubnik.
The reason Klubnik might succeed in the NFL, as Connelly sees it, is because he’s “another solid pitch-and-catch guy.”
“Like [Penn State’s Drew] Allar, Klubnik is a former top recruit with a strong arm and a nice ability to steal yards with his legs,” Connelly wrote. “He escapes pressure well — he was 17th in sacks-to-pressures ratio (13.1%), and he’s super experienced, with 40 career starts and over 10,000 career passing yards. And like [Alabama’s Ty] Simpson, he’s safe in the turnovers department: He ranked sixth in interception rate (1.4%) and fifth in TDs-to-INTs (4.3). There were far worse QBs than Klubnik during his time in the college football universe.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Connelly believes the reason Klubnik might fail as a pro is because “he’s not going to elevate his supporting cast.”
“With the best receiving corps he had at Clemson, Klubnik established a high level of play in 2024: He produced six games with a Total QBR of 88.0 or higher and nine games with at least three touchdown passes. His 262 yards and four TDs in the ACC championship game helped the Tigers nab a CFP berth,” Connelly wrote.
“With his receivers banged up in 2025, he reverted to previous form. And in his four seasons in Clemson, his Total QBR by year was 57.1 (as a non-starter), 55.0, 78.7 and 60.1, respectively. That makes 2024 look like a pretty big outlier. Over the past two seasons, he was a decent 28th in completion rate (64.4%) but a mediocre 42nd in success rate (44.9) and 55th in yards per completion (11.7). He didn’t use his athleticism as much as he could have either: He was just 63rd in scramble rate (4.7%) and 35th in designed runs (10.8%). Solid? Yes. But he never lived up to blue-chip hype.”
The 2026 NFL Draft will take place from April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. Longtime ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Klubnik as the No. 8 quarterback in this year’s draft class.
A recent mock draft from The Sporting News has Klubnik coming off the board in the third round and going to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 99 overall pick.
Klubnik had a strong showing at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. NFL Network analyst Charles Davis really liked what he saw from Klubnik during his on-field workout, saying Klubnik reminded people why he was viewed as a potential first-round draft pick pre-2025 season, before seeing his draft stock slip following a disappointing year.
“Klubnik has thrown it really well today,” Davis said during the network’s coverage of the combine. “I thought tonight, he reminded us of why he was in that [first-round] conversation,” Davis added. “… I thought all in all, a tremendous day for Cade Klubnik. I know they got caught up in some things with Clemson and the season, and he got lost in the wash a little bit. But he’s reminding us all. We had high regard for him before. People are going to be taking another look.”
Klubnik spent four seasons at Clemson, including the last three as the Tigers’ starting QB. He passed for 10,123 yards with 73 touchdowns and 24 interceptions during his Clemson career spanning 49 games (40 starts) from 2022-25. He also rushed for 878 yards and 17 touchdowns on 369 carries.
The former five-star prospect finished his Clemson career with 11,001 yards of total offense, becoming the fourth quarterback in school history to reach the 11,000-yard mark. Klubnik leaves Clemson as the school record-holder in pass completions (916) and pass attempts (1,432), third in passing yards (10,123) and fourth in passing touchdowns (73), total touchdown responsibility (90) and yards of total offense (11,001).
Klubnik posted a 26-14 record as a starter, concluding his career fifth in wins by a starting quarterback in school history. He is one of six Tiger quarterbacks since World War II to win at least 25 games as a starting quarterback, and he became the third two-time ACC Championship Game MVP all-time.
