Buffalo Bills pick joins Shedeur Sanders as victim of several prank calls during NFL Draft
It was a day of false starts for Chase Lundt. The Buffalo Bills' sixth-round pick was hit with several prank calls before finally getting the call that changed his life.
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"It's been quite crazy of a day," said the 6-foot-7, 305-pound offensive tackle who started 49 games at Connecticut. "People pretending to be teams. I probably got four or five of them. I was able to kind of push them aside after awhile and stay levelheaded through it all. I knew my name was going to be called at some point. Just being patient through it all is what I had to do."
Lundt, who didn't allow a sack and anchored a Huskies attack that rushed for 2,590 yards in 2024, blocked out the noise but didn't block the real call from the Bills. Lundt's phone buzzed with opportunity and Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane was on the other end.
"I didn't know if anything was real or not," said Lundt, who was picked 206th overall. "Whenever I got this call it made me feel a little bit more calmed down and everything. It was nice to see the Buffalo Bills were really interested in me.
"It's one of those moments you dream of your entire life, just being drafted in the NFL. It's one of those things you don't take for granted at all. You soak in each and every moment of it."
Draft day phone call scams are a trend. All they take is procuring a prospect's phone number, matching an NFL organization's area code and impish behavior. The bogus caller impersonates a congratulatory general manager or coach falsely informing the athlete he or she will be selected next by the team.
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Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, admitted to and apologized for a prank call made Sanders on Day 2 of the draft. Sanders wasn't picked until Day 3, in the fifth-round by the Cleveland Browns. Indianapolis Colts first-round pick Tyler Warren also received a prank call before he was taken at No. 14 overall, ESPN reported.
Lundt has shifted his focus from nuisance calls to fielding play calls from the NFL Most Valuable Player.
"It's surreal," Lundt said. "Josh (Allen) is one of those guys you love to be around, at the end of the day. To get the opportunity to meet him and get to block for him is going to be so much fun."
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Chase Lundt: Buffalo Bills draft pick victim of several prank calls
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