What does Cade Klubnik, the NFL player, look like?

Photo from Kirby Lee (Imagn Images)

Cade Klubnik was one of nine Clemson Tigers in the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis last week, all looking to improve their potential draft positions. The former Clemson quarterback is facing a potential Day 3 name-call after a shaky 2025 season that derailed both Heisman and first-round pick aspirations.

Klubnik impressed scouts with his combine performance, forgoing the 40-yard dash and other athletic events and instead focusing mainly on the field with throwing tests. Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News gave Klubnik’s combine presentation an A-, praising Klubnik for the “zip” on his throws and overall accuracy. He would be ranked No. 4 among quarterbacks at the combine, just under standout prospects Ty Simpson, Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier.

Paul Perdichizzi, host of the football podcast Saturday2Sunday, further mentioned Klubnik as a good Day 3 selection following the combine, praising arm talent, athleticism, rushing ability and quick release, among other attributes.

Klubnik had respectable numbers in an otherwise down year for Clemson in 2025, putting up 2,943 passing yards and a 16-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio with a career-high completion rate of 65.6% on the year. As much as he was poised to win the Heisman and lead the Tigers to their fourth national championship, other issues came up that made 2025 a strange year for the team.

Klubnik overall fell flat from Week 1 of the season, especially in comparison to a quarterback commonly ranked above him: LSU’s Nussmeier. Nussmeier showed more NFL-ready tools and preparation while fending off the Tigers in Clemson’s Death Valley, possibly a major reason as to why Klubnik still sits below him in NFL draft rankings in current projections.

Mel Kiper seemed to agree that Klubnik was steps behind Nussmeier in his late February NFL draft positional rankings, listing Klubnik as the seventh-best quarterback prospect. This placement put him behind projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, Iyer’s combine picks, as well as Miami’s Carson Beck and North Dakota State’s Cole Payton.

Klubnik’s issues as a prospect come from many different factors. He has a smaller frame by NFL standards at 6 feet, 1 inch and 205 pounds, and has trouble processing post-snap rotations. Only so many physical tools can make up for a lack of that feel for the game, as goes for his proven accuracy and precision.

College Football Enquirer host Steven Godfrey joined Yahoo! Sports Daily to discuss his own gripes with Klubnik and his development, stating that he has a “buyer beware alarm” going off when witnessing Klubnik’s play, similar to his thoughts on Penn State’s Drew Allar. Godfrey is curious at Klubnik’s lack of national prominence despite having a “Texas air raid guy” in Garrett Riley as coordinator, as well as being in a big-name program with a “depth of resources” and the “ability to bring in great receivers.”

Yet, the combine has definitely begun to turn some other analysts to Klubnik’s abilities despite the 2025 meltdown. NFL Network analyst Charles Davis affirms he is aware of Klubnik being “lost in the wash a little bit” due to a disheartening senior season, yet Davis believes Klubnik’s on-field talent should “remind us of why he was in that (first-round) conversation.”

Klubnik has a prospect grade of 5.96, which is in the range of being predicted as an average backup or special-teamer in the NFL, alongside a 76 score on Next Gen Stats, a generally good rating.

All signs are pointing to Klubnik being a 5th-round pick or beyond. Now, the real question lies in what will Klubnik’s potential NFL career look like?

With NFL.com’s analysis, Klubnik is poised to be a career backup, but in an age of the NFL where quarterbacks are not used for project developments any longer, and more and more quarterbacks find themselves “reclaimed” later in their career on a different team, maybe Klubnik does find himself starting in games here and there.

There have been numerous quarterbacks who have been these types of “quasi-starters” in the NFL: trusted for at least a few years as a backup to have some starting roles to coincide with it.

A recent example could be Gardner Minshew, who rose to prominence as a Jacksonville Jaguar before appearing as a starter in various games for the Eagles and Raiders. Klubnik’s success in college presents him to be similar to Minshew in being a respectable, winning backup that may not find consistent starting success in the NFL.

For any NFL quarterback, the hope is to even have started a game in the first place, to input your own story in NFL history, even if it is small. A best-case scenario for Klubnik might be a late-draft selection to a team like the New York Jets, currently in quarterback purgatory and having started three different players in the position through the season.

Some believe the Jets will pass on a major quarterback prospect in this draft class, noting the class overall as weak in that position, hoping to stock up picks for next year.

If Klubnik ultimately lands as a Jet, or at a team in a similar situation, such as the Cardinals — as they figure out a Kyler Murray replacement — Cade could certainly compete for a potential starting role, at least for a few games.

Maybe one day, down the line, NFL fans will be discussing Cade Klubnik as they do Gardner Minshew today. If so, I’ll be the first to toss my hat in the ring for “Minshew Magic” nickname replacements: Uncanny Cade, Captivating Klubnik or Curious Cade.

STORY ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN CLEMSON UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER, THE TIGER.