Mel Kiper pushes back on New Orleans Saints being mocked to draft Cade Klubnik after Tyler Shough pick

In his first mock of the 2026 NFL Draft on Wednesday, ESPN’s Field Yates had the New Orleans Saints going high with a quarterback for the second consecutive spring after taking QB Tyler Shough in the second round back in April. Mel Kiper couldn’t yet see that, though, especially with the quarterback that he mocked to New Orleans.

On ‘First Draft,’ following the release of the mock, Yates and Kiper debated the projections. The predictions included three quarterbacks going first through third, with New Orleans trading up with Tennessee for the No. 3 pick to take Clemson QB Cade Klubnik.

“The New Orleans Saints, again in a projected trade, this one with the Tennessee Titans, who, after taking Cam Ward first overall last year? They are not going to take a quarterback, even if they pick again in the top three this upcoming year,” Yates explained. “The Saints move from five to three. They grab Cade Klubnik, quarterback out of Clemson.

“Cade, who enters year three as a starter for Clemson. A guy who’s been very, very productive for the Tigers. He’s an excellent runner, he’s a very, very good athlete, and a precision passer as well. Completed just 63% of his passes last season, but I think the accuracy is better than that. Very, very good processor overall. Great kid. Has just average size relative to the rest of these quarterbacks. This is not this gargantuan quarterback, a la LaNorris Sellers and some of the other quarterbacks we’re going to talk about throughout this process here. Cade? Very good processor, very good leader, accuracy is good, athleticism is good.”

That said, Yates did realize that meant New Orleans would be taking Klubnik at No. 3 overall in 2026, just a year after taking Shough at No. 40 overall in 2025. Prior to that, the Saints took quarterbacks Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, in 2024. Still, with no answer yet at the position for the franchise, Yates thinks the Saints would do it if they had a top five pick.

“The Saints are, what looks like, in desperate need of a long-term answer under center here,” Yates said. “They took Tyler Shough last year, 40th overall. But, again, not being a first-round pick opens the door that, if you have a top-five selection in a quarterback-rich draft, taking a quarterback in back-to-back years, one going in round two, one going in round one, to me, is totally logical business.

“History has told us to be wary. When these teams have a high pick and an opportunity to draft a quarterback, they’re not going to pass one up. We have seen this time and again. If you have conviction and you have the pick, teams will tell you that you’ve got to do it because it’s so, so hard to find a quarterback.”

That’s where Kiper came in to question this thought process by the Saints, if they were to do this. He thinks there are too many factors to know for sure if this could happen, like how Shough’s rookie season goes in determining where New Orleans’ quarterback spot stands, how Klubnik’s final season in college goes this fall, and how the seasons go for the other top quarterbacks in this draft class.

“You get into Cade Klubnik – you know, what’s his grade going to be based on where Tyler Shough was, and where even Shedeur Sanders was? What kind of year is he going to have?” Kiper Jr. said. “They open up with LSU. You’re going to see Garrett Nussmeier, you know, opposite Cade Klubnik. We’ll see them go head-to-head there…Cade Klubik and Nussmeier? Basically pretty equal in terms of grade.

“New Orleans? You mention Tyler Shough. Tyler Shough went in the second round…He’s had his ups and downs, but he’s got talent. They hand-picked him. They wanted him. This was Kellen Moore…When you go after a Tyler Shough in the second round, and you take him over Shedeur and the other quarterbacks, and Tyler Shough is your guy, are they going to give up on him after one year and say Cade Klubnik? Is Cade Klubnik’s grade going to be that much better, or that high, to warrant being a guy you trade up for to the third pick, the third spot in the draft? If I had a crystal ball right now and I was just guessing – I don’t have that. If I’m just guessing, I don’t think that’s going to happen. But, I just think New Orleans, with Shough? When your coach drafts that quarterback in the first couple round, okay, are you going to say, after one year, you’ve got clear and obvious evidence on Tyler Shough? I don’t know if you can.”

Again, a lot is to be determined between now and April of next year. Just for now, Kiper doesn’t agree with Yates’ debut mock because of this current projection for Klubik.

“The Saints? Maybe the Saints are picking first…I don’t know who’s going to be picking No. 1. You got him going up to three. But, do they take the quarterback in Klubnik and just say, eh, he’s so much better than Shough with Shough going into year two?. Are they going to do that?” Kiper wondered. “I think that’s going to be one of the fascinating points of this draft to see what decisions some of these teams do that already drafted their guy, albeit not in the first round.”