How Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq nearly didn't believe his draft-night call originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When the New York Jets dialed Kenyon Sadiq on Thursday night, the Oregon tight end's first instinct wasn't joy but doubt.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who shared the moment on social media Friday morning. Sadiq thought the call was a prank. The reaction makes complete sense given what happened in the last draft.
Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns quarterback who fell to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a slide nobody saw coming, was infamously prank-called by Jax Ulbrich during that fall.
Ulbrich, whose father was the Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator at the time, had written down Sanders' phone number from his father's open iPad.
The Shedeur effect: Kenyon Sadiq thought he was getting a prank call when the Jets called to inform him that they were selecting him in the first round. pic.twitter.com/2wHgxwhZMc
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Sadiq was taken 16th overall, the Jets' second first-round selection of a remarkable night after Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey went second.
The Oregon tight end posted 51 receptions for 560 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
"It's unreal, man. Need to be the Jets. It's special. My sister currently lives in New York, so I'm happy to get down there. But great interactions with all the staff, in meetings and everything. So I'm beyond excited, super grateful." Sadiq told reporters.
Head coach Aaron Glenn, speaking to reporters after the first round.
"When you have targets, you identify guys you like, you love, you go get them," Glenn said, via team transcript. "Any time you can bring guys with a winning background on your team, that only helps the morale."
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