The New York Jets are embarking on a new era in 2025 after cutting Aaron Rodgers and signing Justin Fields. However, one analyst doesn’t believe it’ll last long.
In a way-too-early 2026 mock draft, On SI’s Richie Bradshaw predicts the Jets will land the No. 2 overall pick next year, which means the Fields experiment did not work out.
He also predicts that the Jets will use that No. 2 pick on Clemson quarterback, Cade Klubnik, who is widely expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft class.
I’m not out on Justin Fields after the promise he made last year with the Steelers. There’s plenty of good to work with in New York, including star receiver Garrett Wilson, to help try and turn his career around.
Of course, if the Jets are picking second overall, then that means it didn’t work out.
Klubnik showed a substantial amount of growth in 2024 after once looking like a five-star bust from high school. He’ll be looking to run it back this season and try for a national championship while he’s at it.
It’s not hard to envision this happening. After all, Fields struck out with the Chicago Bears, and he didn’t do much better with the Pittsburgh Steelers, although Pittsburgh did reportedly want him back.
The Jets didn’t make a long-term commitment to Fields, either. They did give him a $40 million deal, with $30 million guaranteed, but it’s only a two-year pact, which means they aren’t tied to him for the long haul.
Over three seasons at Clemson, Klubnik has completed 63.4% of his passes and thrown for 7,180 yards while rushing for another 784 and scoring 70 total touchdowns.
The Clemson signal-caller has shown good arm strength and has plus-mobility. He needs more work, though, so we’ll be paying close attention to him during his senior season in 2025, when he’ll make or break his draft stock.
With a $22 million dead cap hit for 2026, we’d expect the Jets to hold on to Fields, even if they draft a quarterback, which would set up a competition. Even if Fields wins, it might not be long before the rookie takes his place.
