Athan Kaliakmanis has had a busy off-season, participating in several senior showcases, taking part in Rutgers pro day, and now visiting several NFL teams with the hopes of being drafted later this week. On The Banks’ Greg Patuto wrote in early March that Kaliakamnis had taken several NFL top 30 visits to teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Commanders, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Since that article, Kaliakmanis has received interest from and has visited a few more teams.
One team that has
shown interest in Kalikmanis recently is the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles already have several capable quarterbacks on their roster, including starter Jaylen Hurts and backups Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee. However, the Eagles have shown interest before in keeping their quarterback room filled with talent they can develop, as they drafted Kyle McCord in 2025. McCord has since moved on to Green Bay, leaving a spot on the roster for something similar with Kaliakmanis.
Keeping with the local teams, Kaliakmanis has also had pre-draft local visits with both the New York Giants and Jets. The Giants’ roster has Jaxson Dart as the starter and Jameis Winston as a capable backup, with Brandon Allen listed as the third string. Allen has appeared in 19 games during his 6-year career, throwing for 1,889 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Winston has a long injury history, and Dart showed a sort of recklessness last season that could have the Giants thinking they need some more security at the quarterback position. Adding someone like Kalikmanis gives the Giants another quarterback on the roster they can develop into a quality backup if need be.
The Jets, on the other hand, need a lot of quarterback help. Geno Smith struggled a lot in Las Vegas, and he is expected to be the Jets’ starter next season. Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe have not shown a lot on tape to prove they can be secure backups, meaning that the Jets could be looking to add multiple quarterbacks in the offseason because they not only need a quality starter, but quality backups and third-stringers as well. Kaliakmanis might be one of those quarterbacks, especially if the cards fall a certain way, and they can add him without using a draft pick.
He has also met with the Broncos and the Bears ahead of the NFL draft. Both the Bears and Broncos are in similar situations, where their starting quarterback situation is set, and they are likely just looking to add someone they could develop into a quality backup in case they need one.
Last season, Kaliakmanis had his best season in college, throwing for 3,124 yards and 20 touchdowns. The hope is that he can stick with his upward development and use the flashes he showed last season to earn a spot on an NFL roster.
