How Cade Klubnik Boosted His Draft Stock At The NFL Combine

Taking the next step of their athletic careers, nine of ’s Clemson’s finest former players received invitations to the NFL combine this week in preparation for the NFL Draft in April.

Although the pads were off, the combine was a first taste of NFL action and competition, and it was a chance to jump the ranks for several players.

While DeMonte Capehart definitely stood out on the defensive side of the ball, Cade Klubnik was the front-running former-Tiger offensively by the event's conclusion.

Despite opting out of the 40-yard dash, Klubnik threw at the combine, and people seemed to have liked what they saw.

At Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Klubnik was accurate and confident.

“I feel like my accuracy is something that I definitely lean on,” Klubnik said, and onlookers seemed to pick that up.

"Klubnik threw the ball with plenty of zip and was mostly on point with all of his throws. He's another experienced college star who leaned on his development through play. He didn't push himself up near Simpson the way Allar and Nussmeier (did), but he kept his early-day 3 status alive," Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer said.

Iyer would go on to rank Klubnik’s performance an A- and ranked him as the No. 4 quarterback at the combine. It is important to note that Fernando Mendoza did not compete at the event. In the eyes of many, Klubnik will ultimately be the fifth quarterback off the board, with Mendoza going first, then Alabama's Ty Simpson , then Penn State’s Drew Allar , then LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and finally Klubnik.

Originally, Klubnik entered the 2025 season with the Tigers as a projected top-10 pick. There are still flashes of that potential.

“Tonight he reminded us of why he was in that conversation,” Charles Davis of the NFL Network said.

By many metrics, Klubnik’s combine performance was good enough to see the Texas-native jump two quarterbacks: Kansas’ Jalon Daniels and Miami’s Carson Beck . But NFL Network analyst Lance Zierlein still suggested that Klubnik is “undersized but athletic and shows an ability to attack zone windows with adequate velocity over the first two levels.”

Finishing 2025 7-6, Klubnik’s fourth and final season as Clemson’s gunslinger was ultimately “not the year that we wanted to have,” but that doesn’t make it a wash. Klubnik understands that everything happens for a reason.

“I'm so thankful for this past year because I learned how to truly attack adversity head on and how to truly face it and own it and kind of punch it in the face,” Klubnik said.

Already in a relatively weak quarterback class, attacking adversity will be absolutely critical for Klubnik to stand out.

With Clemson’s long history of success at football’s highest level, Klubnik is ready to add his name to the list.