Why Jets made NFL draft move for Cade Klubnik

The Jets raised some eyebrows when they expended a good amount of draft capital to trade up for Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Gang Green packaged two fourth-round pick to the Bengals to move up 18 spots in that round (they also landed a sixth-round pick back). But did they really need to make that move? Wouldn’t Klubnik have still been on the board had they stood pat?

That was a risk the Jets were not willing to take, according to The Post.

[T]he Jets believed there were two other teams that were targeting Klubnik, according to a source. They also knew that people around the NFL expected the Jets to draft a quarterback in the fourth round because they did not have a fifth- or sixth-round pick and the expectation was they would draft a quarterback on Day 3.

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Offensive coordinator Frank Reich is high on Klubnik, according to the report. The Jets also are said to have felt there was a big drop-off between Klubnik and the rest of the quarterbacks remaining at that point of the draft. They were “not high” on LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who was expected to be a Rounds 2-3 guy but slipped all the way to the seventh round.

Klubnik is, like any other quarterback taken outside the first round, a roll of the dice. Maybe he hits, maybe he does not. His selection should not do much to impact the Jets’ long-term plan moving forward. Geno Smith is the clear starter and Bailey Zappe figures to have the inside track on the backup job for now. Klubnik settles in as the third quarterback. If he has to play this season he has either exceeded expectations or — more likely since we are talking about the Jets — a complete disaster has unfolded.