Most of us have pulled off a prank call at some point, whether it was messing with a friend waiting on big news or calling up a pizza shop with a ridiculous order. But not many people can say they’ve prank-called an NFL Draft prospect about getting picked. Which is exactly what happened to Shedeur Sanders yesterday.
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Shedeur was enjoying a small get-together with what looked like close friends and family in the backyard of his home. After an unexpected fall out of the first round on Day 1, the Colorado alum had to give a speech at his indoor party.
“We all didn’t expect this, of course, but I feel like with God, anything’s possible,” he said.
It was a great attitude to carry into Day 2, and many were expecting to hear his name called in rounds two or three. Sure enough, there was a moment when Shedeur thought the call he’d been waiting for finally came. But just as quickly, disaster struck.
“Say that one more time for me?” Shedeur asked the caller. “This is Mickey Loomis here, GM of the Saints,” they responded.
After exchanging some pleasantries, “Mickey Loomis” (air quotes) then told Shedeur the good news. “It’s been a long wait, man. We’re going to take you with our next pick,” they said.
“Yes, sir, let’s be legendary,” a grateful Shedeur responded. But sadly, the gotcha moment was then revealed.
“Alright, but you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that,” the voice said before hanging up.
Suddenly, Shedeur was visibly confused. For a moment, he thought he was moving to New Orleans. But the way the call ended had him questioning what it all meant. It wasn’t long before he and others at the party pieced together that it was a prank call.
Perhaps the saddest part of the debacle is that it was all caught on a live stream for the entire world to see. It’s been posted and reposted ad nauseam. Another sad part of the clip is hearing Deion Sanders in the background, excited and supportive of his son.
“Way to go! Way to go!” Deion screamed.
However, what made the prank call even more confusing was that Shedeur had mentioned in previous vlogs that he bought that phone strictly for the NFL Draft. And only NFL personnel were supposed to have the number. “Nobody got that number, but coaches,” Shedeur had revealed.
Shedeur bought a phone strictly for nfl personnel for draft purposes ONLY.. nobody has that number but nfl personnel and that was thr number called today to “prank him”
Hard to notice a prank when you think only nfl personnel has the number
pic.twitter.com/UOhIB4HQlr— Dalvinthetruth (@dalvinthetruth) April 26, 2025
The fan reaction to the above post was predictably all over the place, but mostly in support of Shedeur. Despite having plenty of haters and doubters, most agreed that the joke call was despicable and that whoever did it should be ashamed. Some also wondered if it was actually an NFL front office member who pulled the incentive prank.
“Trying to figure out how the Number got leaked if only NFL Personnel had it?” someone asked. “So it had to be a childish NFL exec,” a netizen remarked.
Trying to figure out how the Number got leaked if only NFL Personell had it?
— LeTravis Heisman (@LeTravisHeisman) April 26, 2025
“Nahhhhh, they [are] pranking him, and we need to know who did this cause this is not funny at all,” another chimed in.
Maybe it was an NFL front office member who got hold of Shedeur just to humble him. If so, that person should arguably be made an example of. There’s no place— not just in sports, but in life—for a prank call like this. Shedeur was awaiting life-changing news, and no one should mess with a young man’s emotions like that. It’s borderline cruel.
Moving on, while this whole debacle has been newsworthy—and rightfully so—did anyone notice Shedeur’s reaction to the prank call afterward? He wasn’t mad, sad, or outwardly upset in any way. He simply picked up a ball and continued working out on his field. When family members came over to apologize and express their anger, Shedeur helped them stay calm.
“The thing is, why get mad? Because they want you to have a certain type of reaction to it. They want you to feel bad,” Shedeur told a family member.
It’s this exact mindset that has some analysts and pundits enamored with Shedeur. Clearly not enough, but some. This includes well-respected journalists who’ve covered the sport for years.
Mel Kiper Jr., Emmanuel Acho, and Rich Eisen have all spoken out about the bizarreness of what we’ve been witnessing with Shedeur. It’s been a draft day slide like we’ve never seen before, and the prank call just poured salt in the wound.
But now, we move on to day 3 and look to close out the draft. Surely, Shedeur will be selected today, right? Right?!?
