Jerry Jones has long been the NFL’s ‘Mr. Unpredictable,’ and a new ESPN mock draft projects he’ll live up to that reputation again this April. The Cowboys might select a Texas QB who experienced a rollercoaster end to his college career with one late-round pick, even though Dallas is predicted to boost its defense with most of its picks.

While Matt Miller’s latest ESPN mock draft shows the Cowboys loading up on defense with their first-round picks (12th and 20th), he throws a curveball in the later rounds. Despite already having Dak Prescott and Joe Milton on the roster, Miller projects Dallas to use its 180th pick on Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, creating a potentially crowded QB room.

A former five-star recruit in the class of 2022 out of Westlake High School, which has produced the likes of Nick Foles and Drew Brees, Klubnik had a college journey full of elite flashes and hurdles. He started his freshman career behind DJ Uiagalelei and was called upon off the bench in the ACC Championship game. Klubnik went on to win the MVP.

Klubnik appeared to be on a superstar trajectory after a stellar 2024 season where he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns, even earning early Heisman buzz. However, his draft stock tumbled as Clemson’s offense sputtered to a 7-5 record in 2025, with his production plummeting to just 2,943 yards and 16 touchdowns.

However, the quarterback managed to stop his draft slide with his outing at the NFL Combine. “I feel like my accuracy is something that I definitely lean on,” Klubnik said, and onlookers seemed to pick that up.

“Klubnik threw the ball with plenty of zip and was mostly on point with all of his throws. He’s another experienced college star who leaned on his development through play. He didn’t push himself up near Simpson the way Allar and Nussmeier (did), but he kept his early-day 3 status alive,” Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer said.

“Tonight he reminded us of why he was in that conversation,” Charles Davis of the NFL Network said.

If Dallas were to pick him, they’d be getting a quarterback whose style of play is eerily similar to early-career Dak. With the QB1 slot fixed for the near future, Schottenheimer’s team may be looking to have a similar solution at the QB2 position.

Is the future looking bright for the Dallas Cowboys?

The Dallas Cowboys seem poised for a promising season, with their main focus on defense. They are expected to select premium players, such as edge rushers and cornerbacks. The doors to trade up or trade back in the draft are also open for the Cowboys. They have the 12th and 20th picks in the draft, for a total of 8.

The head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, is confident that the Cowboys did a tremendous job in free agency. The focus is to draft players with immediate impact.

“I think we did a really good job of setting ourselves up to be able to draft naturally and draft purely, which is what you want to do,” said Schottenheimer. You don’t want to have to be forced to reach for a player; that’s when you make mistakes.”

“You want to be prepared to do what we need to do on defense, but certainly we’re not going to pass on a great offensive player if they’re there at one of those spots,” said Schottenheimer. Last year was more of, yeah, I saw the highlight film, the POAs, now I’ve seen game film. I’ve seen these guys compete. It makes it a little easier to help make that selection.”