Jets TE Kenyon Sadiq briefly thought he was being prank called when team drafted him

Sadiq is coming off a stellar 2025 campaign with the Ducks. He caught 51 passes for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns for an Oregon team that reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. The 6-foot-3, 241-pound tight end ran a blistering 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and showcased his receiver-like route-running ability in the collegiate ranks.

Sadiq’s trepidation answering the phone on Thursday makes sense, especially after a pick that never happened became part of the biggest story of last year’s draft.

At the time, Jax Ulbrich, the then-21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, impersonated New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis while on the phone with Shedeur Sanders, pretending that the Colorado star was being picked 40th overall before revealing that the quarterback was being spoofed.

After the childish trick, which resulted in the Falcons and Jeff Ulbrich being fined, Sanders’ draft slide continued until the Cleveland Browns took him in the fifth round.

The Sanders prank call isn’t the only one in recent years that’s disturbed the positivity that normally swarms the draft. In an attempt to limit access to prospects, the NFL made a change this year that entrusted a single point of contact in each franchise with prospects’ contact information, according to The Athletic.

Interestingly enough, the Arizona Cardinals seemed to have trouble contacting former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love on Thursday night. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said they had the wrong phone number for Love and had to track down the right one before making him the No. 3 overall pick.

Thirteen picks later, Sadiq got his call — from the Jets, and it was indeed for real.