Jets rumors: The Broncos reason Darren Mougey may have drafted Cade Klubnik

When the New York Jets selected Cade Klubnik in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, it turned heads around NFL circles.

A three-year starter at Clemson, Klubnik’s 2025 season was underwhelming compared to his previous two campaigns and, as a result, was considered more of a late Day 3 pick, as opposed to the fifth quarterback taken in the class.

So why did the Jets take Klubnik in the fourth round when the next quarterback didn’t come off the board until midway through the fifth? Well, in the opinion of ESPN’s Rich Cimini, it comes down to two factors: the Denver Broncos and Frank Reich.

“I did have a problem with the Klubnik pick. I thought that was a reach. I think a lot of talent evaluators had him more as a sixth or seventh round guy. I think they feared that someone was going to take him right there in the fourth round. Now, interestingly enough, they jumped right ahead of Denver. So I’m thinking, maybe would Denver take him as a possible backup? And it turns out Cade Klubnik’s college roommate last year at Clemson was Caleb Nix, the younger brother of Bo Nix. So maybe Denver thinks they have a little inside intel there on the player,” Cimini noted.

“They kind of fall in love with the player. They need a backup for Nicks, for Bo Nix. So maybe the Jets thought, you know, Mougey probably had some information from his old team, Denver. So that’s why they moved up. Otherwise, I can’t see. I just thought he was like a sixth or seventh round pick. And the Jets, Frank, this is a Frank Reich pick. Frank Reich fell in love with him. We went down there. He worked them out. He spent a lot of time with them. They had good interviews with them. And the Jets felt like, if we don’t get this quarterback now, there’s a big drop-off until the next quarterback. And so that’s why they went ahead and did it.”

With three quarterbacks already on their roster, Geno Smith, Bailey Zappe, and Brady Book, but no real upside in terms of franchise QB potential, it makes sense that the Jets used a draft pick on the position, even knowing that 2027 is likely their year to land a long-term player. If Klubnik somehow pans out, which he might not have an opportunity to do, depending on the depth chart, great. If not, Reich will have plenty of other quarterbacks to fall for in 2027, with multiple franchise-caliber prospects expected to declare.

Why did the #Jets trade up for Clemson QB Cade Klubnik?@RichCimini revealed there is a #Broncos connection at play:

‘Now interestingly enough, they jumped right ahead of Denver … It turns out Cade Klubnik’s college roommate last year at Clemson was Caleb Nix, the younger… pic.twitter.com/onKmhJSigb

— Jets Collective (@NYJetsHMA) April 29, 2026

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