When it comes to the general practice of prank calls, The Jerky Boys were artists. When prank calls are specifically made to prospects during the draft, those who do it are just jerks.
And while it’s impossible to prevent any and all prank calls made by friends or others who may have access to the phone numbers, the NFL can and should do more to ensure that access to the numbers is limited.
As to the prank call made to quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the second day of the draft, the number was obtained by the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Ulbrich had the number because the NFL sent to a broad distribution list an email that provided Sanders’s update number.
All personnel executives received it. All head coaches and assistant coaches received it.
There’s no reason for so many people to have the numbers. At most, three people at each team need the number: owner, G.M., and head coach. It arguably could be limited to one person per organization.
Another way to prevent prank calls would be to make the calls by FaceTime only. It would be obvious that it’s real from the moment the call is answered.
Whatever the NFL does, it has some indirect responsibility for the Shedeur prank because it was way too loose with the information. This makes it even more likely that the Falcons’ statement will be regarded as the end of the matter (even if there could be more to the story than the team admits), and that the NFL will just quietly move on.
The Falcons only drafted five players this year, which made the post-draft rush to sign undrafted players a big part of General Manager Terry Fontenot’s plans.
Fontenot said at a press conference over the weekend that the Falcons “really have to attack undrafted free agency in the right way” and the first results of that effort were announced on Monday. They have agreed to terms with 11 rookies who went unselected over seven rounds.
The group includes Miami defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr., Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant, Michigan State running back Nathan Carter, Oregon State offensive lineman Joshua Gray, North Dakota State linebacker Nick Kubitz, Oregon cornerback Dontae Manning, San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash, South Carolina tight end Joshua Simon, Vanderbilt wide receiver Quincy Skinner Jr., Iowa State linebacker Malik Verdon, and Georgia Tech offensive tackle Jordan Williams.
The Falcons will open their rookie minicamp on May 9.
The Falcons won’t be taking action against defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in connection with his son’s prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the second night of the draft. The NFL still could.
“We have been in contact with the Falcons and we are reviewing the matter,” a league spokesman told PFT via email.
On Sunday afternoon, the Falcons issued a statement explaining that Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number” for Sanders, which he found in an “open iPad” while visiting his parents’ home.
PFT has obtained a pair of communications that were sent to the NFL’s teams regarding the contact information for the draft prospects generally, and for Sanders specifically. The first, a formal memo dated April 23, 2025 to all “General Managers, Head Coaches, Player Personnel Directors, Club IT Directors” from the NFL Player Personnel department listed the contact numbers for the 16 players who attended the draft (cell phone number and green room number) and the 24 players who were participating virtually (including Sanders). The memo also contained the WhatsApp numbers for the five players who participated in the 2025 International Player Pathway Program, and who were attending the draft in Green Bay.
Later, an email was sent on April 23 to “All Waivers [NFL League],” and it contained only the “new cell phone number beginning today” for Shedeur Sanders. As one source explained it, the “All Waivers [NFL League]” is widely distributed to all coaches and personnel executives. Ulbrich would have been on the recipient list.
It’s reasonable to conclude that Jax Ulbrich saw the second email, which had only Sanders’s updated number — especially since that’s the number that was called during the draft. The question is how and when he saw it.
Did it happen the way the Falcons explained it?. The team’s statement shifts all blame from Jeff Ulbrich, insulating him from any potential knowledge that he was aware that his son saw the number and wrote it down specifically with the intention of pranking Sanders. It also eliminates the possibility that Jeff Ulbrich was in any way involved in the prank.
It will be interesting to see whether the league accepts Atlanta’s explanation or digs deepers. It also will be interesting to see whether the league imposes any discipline on the Falcons or Ulbrich. If nothing happens, it will cause some to conclude that the lack of action represents another benefit to the Falcons from having Rich McKay serve as chairman of the Competition Committee.
For now, we’ll see what happens. And we’ll see whether the league gets to the bottom of the question of: (1) who pranked Colts tight end Tyler Warren on the first night of the draft; and (2) who called a player roughly 30 minutes after he was drafted and told him he had been traded.
Regardless of how it plays out, it’s safe to say that this was one of the most uncommon drafts of the common draft era.
The mystery has been solved.
Well, one of them at least.
The Falcons have announced that the prank call placed during the second night of the draft traces to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. In a statement, the Falcons said that Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number” for Sanders. It was on an “open iPad” while Jax Ulbrich was visiting his parents’ home. (Microsoft might not be thrilled about Apple getting some product-placement publicity; the league gets millions per year to use and promote the Surface.)
He wrote the number down with the plan to use it for a prank call. Per the Falcons, Jeff Ulbrich was not aware of the situation until after the call happened.
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family,” the statement reads, adding that the team has reached out to apologize to Sanders directly. The team also facilitated an apology from Jax Ulbrich to Shedeur.
“We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office,” the statement explains.
The Falcons are imposing no discipline on Jeff Ulbrich, and the statement does not apply to any other prank calls made to prospects during the draft. A prank call was made to new Colts tight end Tyler Warren. Another player was called after he was drafted and told he’d been traded.
Whether the NFL takes any action against the team or Jeff Ulbrich remains to be seen. The Falcons said they will be “thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
The Rams have made their first selection in the 2025 draft, bringing in an offensive contributor.
At No. 46 overall in the second round, Los Angeles has selected tight end Terrance Ferguson out of Oregon.
Ferguson, 22, was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection in 2023 and a third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2024 after the Ducks switched conferences.
He caught 43 passes for 591 yards with three touchdowns in 2024, missing a pair of games due to appendix surgery. He finished his collegiate career with 134 catches for 1,537 yards with 16 TDs in 53 games with 37 starts.
He’ll now join a tight ends group led by the veteran Tyler Higbee.
The Rams picked up No. 46 from the Falcons as part of the deal for the No. 26 pick in the first round on Thursday. Los Angeles also acquired Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2026 in that trade.
