Source: Dustin Bradford / Getty
Waiting for Shedeur Sanders to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft was already brimming with drama, and it’s not ending anytime soon.
The former Colorado State quarterback was picked 144th in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns, but that wasn’t before he received a prank call from someone claiming to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
Sanders’ team caught the moment on video, and the pranksters posted their own video of the call. It turned out to be a bunch of Ole Miss frat guys.
“It’s been a long wait, man,” the person on the phone said. “We’re going to take you with our next pick, man, but you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that.”
Even Sanders was puzzled by the call because only approved NFL team representatives had that phone number.
The apparent prank calllers who phoned Shedeur Sanders on Friday during the NFL Draft shared a video of their call on Twitter.
The callers pretended to be Mickey Loomis of the Saints saying the team would select the QB.
: @WellOffForever pic.twitter.com/44QOmigrwp
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 26, 2025
With the suspect list that small, by Sunday, the NFL learned the person to blame was Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, and the regret started to set in.
The college kid took to Instagram with an apology, reading, “On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful. I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.”
The Falcons apologized, too, then stepped in with a statement explaining how Ulbrich “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parents’ home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call.”
Falcons’ statement on the involvement of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son, Jax, in the draft weekend prank call to Shedeur Sanders: pic.twitter.com/PgSxURroaY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2025
The Falcons claim Jeff, the father, had no knowledge of the scheme prior to the viral moment. Still, it’s not a good look for Ulbrich, who was hired earlier this year, so hopefully, he’ll learn to at least put a passcode on his iPad going forward.
Sanders, a newly minted Cleveland Brown, seemed to take the prank in stride, telling local media, “Of course I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”
Looking forward, Sanders will now share a quarterback room alongside Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Deshaun Watson.
See social media’s ongoing reaction to Sanders’ NFL draft drama below.
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