Recent ESPN Headline – “Did the Jets finally find their Tom Brady or Brock Purdy in rookie QB Cade Klubnik?”
In other words, a later-round steal at QB.
The Jets picked Klubnik in the fourth round of the 2026 draft. Brady was a sixth-round pick of New England, and Purdy a seventh-rounder by San Francisco.
For Klubnick to turn into a top-shelf NFL starter like Brady or Purdy, he will need to improve his processing and field vision.
Brady was an elite processor – great at going through progressions – one, two, three, checkdown; great at seeing the whole field, reading defenses, manipulating safeties with his eyes.
And this might surprise some people who don’t follow the 49ers closely, but Purdy is also an elite processor.
“When it comes to playing quarterback, processing information quickly, Brock Purdy is right there with a guy like Joe Burrow,” said Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Schlereth on his podcast.
Klubnik, like a lot of college QB prospects these days, is too often a one-read guy.
“When the first read isn’t there, his field vision is average, and he’s not good enough off-platform/out of structure to succeed at a high enough rate,” wrote NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein for NFL.com.
But this issue with his field vision is a common concern for QBs jumping from college to the NFL these days, especially since they are often only asked to throw to their first read on Saturdays.
“Loses firmness of platform as he works through his progressions,” wrote Zierlein. “Below-average field vision to quickly diagnose coverages.”
Maybe Klubnik will buck the odds and improve his field vision/processing on the NFL level from what he displayed in college.
If he can, he certainly has the physical skill set to turn into a potential middle-round steal.
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