The Jets were expected to select a quarterback after the first round of the NFL Draft. And they did. But Clemson's Cade Klubnik wasn't one of the names bandied about much before the event in Pittsburgh. The Jets traded a pair of fourth-round picks (Nos. 128 and 140) to Cincinnati to move up 18 spots to take the QB who went 26-14 as a starter for the Tigers.
"Felt really good about Cade," GM Darren Mougey said. "It started obviously last year, evaluating all those quarterbacks going into this year. We had good grades on Cade going in this year, and then, you're watching this year, he got hurt early, and was playing hurt much of the year, and that team kind of struggled, but was excited to get around him at the combine.
"Had a great combine interview, which kind of sparked us to want to get down to Clemson and work him out and spend some more time within and we went down there, and again, it was a great exposure. Being there on campus [along with OC Frank Reich] with him in the room talking ball, felt very natural. Felt like there was a connection there. Getting on the field, doing the workout, [he] showed well. So felt really good about Cade, a young player that has a lot of experience, you know, played a lot of snaps in high school, 30-0 record in Texas [Westlake HS in Austin], went to Clemson as a young, I think, 17-year-old, three-year starter at Clemson won a lot of games there. Unfortunately, had a down year this year, but still, young, athletic with some upside, and feel really good about being able to get him."
Klubnik, 22, played in 12 games last season for the Tigers (7-6, 4-4 ACC) and completed 257-of-392 passes (65.6%) for 2,943 yards with 16 TDs and 6 INT. Klubnik (6-2, 207) was the fifth quarterback to be drafted, following No. 1 overall Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas), Ty Simpson (LA Rams), Carson Beck (Arizona) and Drew Allar (Pittsburgh).
"I've been a football fan for a long time, so I'm obviously very aware [of the Jets' quarterback history]," Klubnik said after being selected by the Green & White. "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 will compete for the No.2 signal-caller spot behind veteran Geno Smith, 35. Brady Cook, an undrafted free agent last year, and Bailey Zappe, signed in the offseason are the other QBs in the room, for now.
"Obviously we brought in Geno to be our starter, and I'm not going to put a cap on him on how many years he can play, so I don't even go into the fact of he's here [signed] for a year," HC Aaron Glenn said. "As long as he's producing, as long as he's the best guy, he's going to continue to play.
"But obviously, in this league, you got to have a system where there are backups and there are guys that are pushing the starter. You always want to create that type of competition. Listen, I'm not going to sit here and say exactly where Cade is going to play. The thing is, those guys can go out there and compete, you know? So right now, I like the room. I like where it's at. The guys can continue to compete, and I don't want to cap any of those guys as far as playtime, and how long are they going to play."
