ESPN's Latest NFL Draft QB Rankings Have a Tough Verdict on Clemson's Cade Klubnik

The 2026 NFL Draft keeps drawing closer by the day, and with the combine officially wrapped up — as well as Clemson's pro day arriving soon — position rankings continue to be released.

On Saturday morning, ESPN's Jordan Reid dropped his quarterback rankings heading into the NFL Draft, and Clemson's Cade Klubnik landed at the No. 9 spot, projecting him to be picked up by a franchise on early-to-mid Day 3 (rounds 4-7).

The others ahead of the 6-foot-2 dual threat are Illinois' Luke Altmyer, Arkansas' Taylen Green — whose stock shot up after the combine — North Dakota State's Cole Payton, Penn State's Drew Allar, Miami's Carson Beck, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Alabama's Ty Simpson and reigning Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza.

The former five-star recruit and three-year starter entered this past 2025 season as one of the most highly-touted draft prospects.

Klubnik had just wrapped up the best year of his career as a junior in 2024, where he completed 63% of his passes for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns while adding on 463 yards and seven touchdowns as a runner. He also led the Tigers to an ACC Championship victory and the program's first College Football Playoff appearance since 2020.

The success proved difficult to replicate, however. Even with one of the highest roster retention rates in the nation, the team accumulated its worst record since 2010, and Klubnik threw just 16 touchdowns across 12 games — a career low. He finished the season with a 66% completion rate and just under 3,000 passing yards while also earning a career-low 94 rushing yards.

Reid summed up the season pretty well for the senior.

"Klubnik has stretches of hot and cold play throughout games, similar to a streaky 3-point shooter," he wrote regarding his strengths. "His clean throwing release allowed him to distribute the ball evenly to all his targets in the underneath areas the Tigers operated in. Klubnik is also a threat as a runner when forced to break the pocket."

Despite Reid having Klubnik as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft around this time last year, he's not as high on him after further evaluations, both in-person and on tape.

"Klubnik has a lot of borderline-average traits, but doesn't have one superior trait. Outside of his Week 6 performance against North Carolina (22-of-24, 254 yards and 4 TDs)," he continued. "Klubnik hesitated throwing the ball on time, too."

"I saw him up close against LSU in the 2025 season opener and noticed that he had timing troubles when reading concepts. His anticipation skills have been lacking, and he defaulted to waiting for teammates to get open before throwing."

Reid's concerns didn't stop there, though. Beyond the cold stretches and timing concerns, the Clemson signal caller also struggled when defenses dialed up the heat, a problem that will only be magnified against NFL pass rushes.

"His mechanics tend to wane when facing pressure, and his accuracy becomes scattershot. Klubnik completed only 48.5% of his passes when facing true pressure," Reid finished. "There were mixed opinions of Klubnik entering the season, but thoughts of him being a middle-to-late round passer have become more of a consensus."

Klubnik did his part to push back on that narrative at the combine last week, turning in an impressive showing that gave evaluators reason to pause. Still, his draft stock remains one of the more polarizing in the class, with projections ranging anywhere from a mid-Day 2 selection to a late-Day 3 flier, depending on who you ask.