The New York Giants emerged as one of the biggest winners of the 2025 NFL Draft, a status cemented early on with their selection of Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter at the No. 3 overall pick. While much of the attention might have been expected to center around high-profile picks or trades—such as New York’s move to grab Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart—the weekend’s most talked-about storyline revolved around the unexpected and dramatic fall of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Despite being a widely discussed prospect, Sanders slipped past every team multiple times before finally being selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
However, before receiving the long-awaited call confirming his draft selection, Sanders became the victim of a cruel prank. He was contacted by someone pretending to be from an NFL team—specifically, a call placed by the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. The call was a misuse of confidential contact information provided exclusively to NFL franchises and sparked immediate backlash. As a result, the NFL launched an investigation, ultimately fining Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 and the Falcons organization $250,000. Jax Ulbrich, the prankster, later issued an apology, though it was marred by a misspelling of Sanders’ name.
Shedeur Sanders wasn’t alone in being targeted. Multiple draft prospects reported receiving unsolicited and misleading calls from individuals falsely claiming to represent NFL teams. Among those was Abdul Carter himself. Just before he was picked by the Giants, Carter received a prank call during the second overall selection, claiming the Jacksonville Jaguars were about to draft him. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the caller pretended to represent the Jaguars, leading Carter and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to recognize it as a hoax. Rosenhaus later commented on the situation, expressing frustration that private contact numbers had been leaked and confirming that they chose not to alarm Carter’s family with the fake news.
Interestingly, the Jaguars had indeed traded up to the No. 2 spot, acquiring the pick from the Cleveland Browns. However, they used it to draft Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter, not Carter. That left Carter available for the Giants at No. 3, allowing New York’s draft board to unfold just as planned, despite the disruptions. Fortunately, Carter didn’t have to endure a long wait after the prank call. His early visits were focused on top-drafting teams, and the Giants’ selection validated that strategy, turning an unsettling moment into a triumphant beginning.
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