Shedeur Sanders wasn’t the only NFL Draft prospect pranked this weekend
The Colorado quarterback who fell to the Browns in the fifth round was called Friday by someone posing as Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. It was later discovered that the prankster was the son of a Falcons assistant.
“Earlier in the week, Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,” the Falcons said in a statement.
In a video captured by Well Off Media—a YouTube channel run by Sander’ older brother Deion Jr.—Sanders is seen holding the phone to his ear and listens as Ulbrich’s friend identities himself as Loomis, about to pick at No. 40, and says “We’re gonna take you with our next pick right here, man.”
“Yes sir, let’s be legendary,” Shedeur replied.
“But you’re gonna have to wait a little bit longer, man,” the pranksters replied. “Sorry about that.” The call ended leaving Sanders and those around him to decipher what had just happened. (Ulbrich and his friend also posted their own video of the prank.)
“Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact,” the Falcons said. “The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.”
Jeff Ulbrich was previously the Jets’ defensive coordinator for the last four years and stepped in as interim head coach in 2024 after Robert Saleh was fired. The Falcons are not disciplining the elder Ulbrich.
There are reportedly other players who received prank calls, according to ESPN. A Falcons spokesperson told Front Office Sports that Jax Ulbrich is not tied to the other reported prank calls.
The Falcons were also on the other end of pranks. A student at Alabama prank called Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond posing as Falcons GM Terry Fontenot. Bond transferred from Alabama to Texas in 2024 after three seasons with the Crimson Tide and went undrafted due after a sexual assault arrest in Texas. Bond is still unsigned as of Monday afternoon.
Penn State tight end Tyler Warren reportedly received a prank call on Thursday night while the Jets were on the clock with the No. 7 pick. The team selected Missouri offensive lineman Armond Membou instead of Warren, who wound up going to the Colts at No. 14.
And Bills sixth-round selection Chase Lundt, an offensive tackle, told reporters he received “four or five” prank calls during the draft.
“There were a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ throughout the course of the morning, but I was able to kind of push them aside after a while and just kind of stay levelheaded through it all,” Lundt said.
On Sunday, the younger Ulbrich apologized on Instagram.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake,” Ulbrich wrote. “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,” he wrote. “I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment.
“Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,” he added.
Prank calls have come up before during the draft. Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean got one during the 2024 draft while he was waiting to hear his name called in the draft’s green room.
The NFL is investigating the prank call to Sanders and a league spokesman confirmed to Front Office Sports that it has been in contact with the Falcons and will “review the matter” when asked if the investigation will expand to the other calls. Sanders used a cell phone with a number only given out to NFL personnel.
