Cade Klubnik enters the 2025 season as one of the best players in college football and he's widely considered the No. 1 quarterback in the country.
While personal accolades like making the All-American team, winning the Heisman Trophy, and being selected No. 1 overall are on his list of goals, he cares just as much, if not more, about winning and team accolades like another ACC title and a national championship.
Klubnik is addicted to winning and getting better and that has earned him a favorable comparison to an NFL starting quarterback by one of the media's top draft experts.
[According to ESPN's Matt Miller](https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2026/story/_/id/45585366/2026-nfl-mock-draft-miller-early-first-round-predictions-quarterbacks-32-picks), Klubnik "reminds" him of Baker Mayfield because of his arm strength, awareness, and accuracy. He also has him going No. 1 overall in 2026.
> "Klubnik enters the season as my No. 1 QB. In 2024, he threw for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions, highlighted by a gutsy performance against Texas in the College Football Playoff (336 passing yards, three TDs, one INT). Klubnik reminds me of Baker Mayfield -- whom Cleveland selected with the No. 1 pick in 2018 -- in terms of arm strength, mobility and playmaking awareness."
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> Matt Miller, ESPN
Going to Cleveland wouldn't be great for Klubnik because they're still believing in Deshaun Watson and they also just drafted two quarterbacks in 2025 as Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders enter their rookie seasons with the Browns.
Still, Miller believes that Klubnik would be the Browns' franchise quarterback, passing up all the others mentioned above and he liekened him to Mayfield who also played for the Browns.
While this may not seem like the best comparison for fans who believe Klubnik will be the next star quarterback in the NFL, you have to realize Mayfield was a Heisman winner and he has had a resurgence in the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's now considered one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL thanks to his arm strength, mobility, and playmaking.
I'd say this is a more than fair comparison.