Jets First-Round Pick Thought He Was Being Prank-Called Like Shedeur Sanders

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The effects of the prank call to Shedeur Sanders, made by the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich at last year’s draft, are still being felt a year later.

The Jets made three first-round picks during the opening night of the 2026 draft, selecting edge rusher David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. Sadiq, who was taken off the board with the No. 16 pick, had some skepticism when he received an incoming call from the team.

After receiving a call from New York, Sadiq didn’t have too much to say when speaking to general manager Darren Mougey. When Mougey passed the phone over to coach Aaron Glenn, Sadiq admitted that he briefly thought he was being pranked.

“Listen, we’re going to bring you up here and you’re gonna be a big weapon for us,” Glenn told Sadiq.

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I was thinking it was a prank call for a second, but nah I appreciate it,” Sadiq responded, before noting that he was excited to get started with his career as a Jet.

“We’re not pranking you, brother. You’re gonna be a Jet… Trust me on that, you’ve been a target for us for a while,” Glenn said.

This year, the NFL tightened up its protocols regarding draft day phone calls by limiting access to prospects’ contact information to just one person within the organization. In doing so, they mitigated the risk of players’ phone numbers getting in the wrong hands.

During the second day of the ’25 draft, Sanders, who was streaming live on Twitch waiting for his name to be called, received a phone call from an unknown number during the second round, right before the Saints made their selection at No. 40. New Orleans was a team known to be looking at the quarterback position in the draft, so it would’ve made sense that they’d be willing to take Sanders with the No. 40 pick, especially considering he was anticipated to be one one the draft’s first picks. In reality it was the work of Jax Ulbrich, mischievously prank-calling Sanders. Sanders wasn’t selected for another 104 picks, ultimately going in the fifth round to the Browns at No. 144.

Fortunately for Sadiq, the call on Thursday night was the real deal, despite his initial skepticism. New York picked him at No. 16, making him the first tight end selected in the ’26 draft.

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Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.

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