Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Draft nightmare took a cruel twist Friday when his hopes were momentarily lifted only to be immediately crushed.
Sanders had been tipped by some – including his father – to be a top-five pick but he embarrassingly became the biggest shock of the draft.
Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart were the only quarterbacks selected in Thursday’s first round while his humiliation continued Friday.
The former Colorado quarterback continued to plummet falling out of the second round and sliding down the third.
And as his agonizing wait dragged on, some cruel prankster decided to add salt to the wound.
Surrounded by friends and family, including NFL legend father Deion Sanders, at his second draft party of the week, the 23-year-old finally received a long-awaited call.
Shedeur Sanders was the victim of a cruel prank call during the NFL Draft Friday
The quarterback plummeted out of the second round and continued sliding down the third
The incoming call appeared to be from an NFL team front office when Sanders first picked up, striking up a conversation.
‘Good, I’ve been waiting on you,’ Sanders could be heard saying in response to the caller asking how he was.
But the call suddenly took a turn for the worst as the caller cryptically said: ‘[You’ll] have to wait a little longer.’
Sanders was left looking puzzled before realizing that he was a victim of a prank call.
The moment was caught on Sanders’ livestream of his draft party, which was swiftly cut off following the humiliation.
At the time of a video of the incident going viral on social media, the picks in the third round were quickly running out with Sanders still left on the board.
It had appeared that Sanders could finally get the nod Thursday night when the New York Giants traded back up to the first round but Brian Daboll’s side opted to draft quarterback Jaxson Dart instead.
The Saints, whose quarterback Derek Carr is an injury doubt for the upcoming season, had the pick and were believed to be in the market for a new signal caller but once again, Sanders was overlooked in favor of another – this time, Tyler Shough.
Sanders’ father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, believes he warranted a top-five draft pick
Meanwhile, Cam Ward, the former Miami quarterback, was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the No . 1 overall pick.
There had been speculation ahead of the draft that Sanders’ stock had tanked among certain teams.
His character in particular had been targeted following the combine with anonymous team sources branding him ‘brash’ and ‘arrogant’ following interviews.
Concerns about Sanders’ arm strength have become an issue in recent weeks, although his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Sanders, laughed at that notion.
In 50 collegiate games, Sanders threw for 14,347 yards, with 134 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He completed 70.1 percent of his passes and ran for 17 more scores.