How Shedeur Sanders knew Cleveland Browns draft call was not a prank

Daily Mail​

01-05-2025

After being stunned with a prank call on Day 2 of the NFL Draft last week, Shedeur Sanders didn't have any hesitations that the Cleveland Browns were on the phone in the fifth round on Saturday.
Sanders' precipitous fall down the draft boards came as a shock to many NFL analysts as one of the best quarterbacks available in the class didn't get picked until selection No. 144.
But when the Browns did eventually pick up the phone, Sanders knew exactly who he was speaking to.
He was victim of a prank call on Friday that was due to Jax Ulbrich, the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, writing Sanders' private phone number down.
So, according to NFL Network's Mike Garofolo, when Cleveland made their pick, they spoke to Sanders via a video call.
'I got this, ready? Everybody listen up. I know you've got me up there in 345 [Park Avenue, the address of the NFL headquarters in New York] right now listening to me.
From The Insiders: When Shedeur Sanders finally got taken by the #Browns, he knew it wasn't a prank. Video calls. The wave of the NFL Draft future. pic.twitter.com/W9tcFnraV3
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 30, 2025
'Shedeur Sanders when he finally did get drafted, he knew it wasn't a prank call. You know why? Video. Call. Video call. [Browns GM] Andrew Berry was staring him in the face.
'The Browns did that for content purposes, for social media purposes. But I think it's actually a really good security thing that you can do.
'You can't mimic the Browns draft room or Andrew Berry's face, or maybe you can with AI these days, I don't know.'
'But it'd be harder to do that from Berry College from a dormitory there than it would be to do it via just a phone call,' Garafolo said - referring to the school Jax Ulbrich attends.
Garafolo concluded: 'So we have the capabilities, ladies and gentlemen. It'll be 2026 next year. Still no flying cars, hoverboards do have actual wheels so not quite the future that we were planned by this point.
'But we do have the video calls and I believe that should be a big part about what we do next year in the draft to prevent the pranks.'
The quarterback's humiliating freefall to the fifth round of the NFL Draft at the weekend was compounded by a cruel prank call Friday, which was made to a phone number only available to NFL executives and team front offices.
It later emerged that Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich, was behind the call after he released a statement confessing to the outrageous act on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the NFL confirmed that the Falcons have been fined $250,000 and Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 for the breach of confidential information.
It is reported that Jax obtained the number by writing it down from his father's iPad, while visiting his parents' home with the intention of later conducting the call, according to ESPN.
In a responding statement, the Falcons accepted the discipline, vowing to tighten its security procedures.
The organization further revealed that Ulbrich's son Jax would be serving his own punishment in the form of community service.
'We appreciate the NFL's swift and thorough review of last week's data exposure and the event that transpired due to it,' the franchise said.
'We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization. We are confident in our security policies and practices and will continue to emphasize adherence to them with our staff whether on or off premises.
'Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week's matter.'
However, Sanders wasn't the only victim of the prank call torture with many others reported to have suffered a similar fate.
Abdul Carter, the best pure defensive prospect in the class, says he received a prank call last Thursday evening.
Carter was taken third overall by the New York Giants. However, just before that pick was made official, he received a call from a prankster who claimed to be from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars made a trade with the Cleveland Browns to move up from the No. 5 pick to the No. 2 pick.
When the prankster contacted Carter, they claimed that the Jaguars were going to select him second overall.
But Carter and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, immediately knew that the call was a fake.
'It's unfortunate that these private numbers are getting to the people making the prank calls,' Rosenhaus said (via ESPN's Adam Schefter).
'Abdul and I knew it was bs and didn't even tell his family about the call.'
An Alabama fan prank called undrafted free agent Isaiah Bond while pretending to be working for the Atlanta Falcons.
Bond, who transferred from Alabama to Texas, then heard the fan say, 'Roll Tide, Isaiah, Roll Tide' before eventually hanging up the phone.
Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord revealed he got so many calls from southern New Jersey and Philadelphia area codes, that when Eagles GM Howie Roseman called to actually inform him that he was being selected, he believed it was another prank.
UConn offensive lineman Chase Lundt told media in Buffalo that prior to being picked by the Bills, he was prank called five separate times.
In addition to Bond, McCord, and Lundt, first-round picks Tyler Warren, Josh Conerly Jr, and Mason Graham received prank calls as well.
The league is currently investigating how those prank calls got through.