The 2025 NFL Draft will be remembered for its prank call shenanigans, if nothing else. Several players, including the Pittsburgh Steelers' newest quarterback, sixth-round pick Will Howard, were victims of the pranks.
The Steelers’ website published an interview between Howard and Missi Matthews on Friday that detailed what the former Ohio State quarterback dealt with over the draft weekend.
“I remember sitting there, sitting on my couch for the first three days, a couple of times I got impatient or wanted to get up and get a snack,” Howard said.
“So I ended up, right there during the sixth round, I stood up and I went to the kitchen just because I was tired of sitting in the same spot. And that was where I got the call, it was a relief seeing that number come up, 412 number with Pittsburgh Steelers over the top. I had gotten prank-called a few times, so it was nice to actually have a real one.”
Howard was not alone, as this year saw many players subjected to similar prank calls.
Pittsburgh Steelers' Will Howard one of several players hit with draft-day prank calls
Fellow 2025 QB prospects Shadeur Sanders and Kyle McCord, as well as several other prospects, also received the prank calls. Sanders’ story was well-documented, especially with his slide from a potential first-round pick to the fifth round as the second quarterback selected by the Cleveland Browns.
While it’s known that Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son was involved in the Sanders prank call, there isn’t much information behind the rest of the prank calls, including those that Howard received.
Even before it became prominent news, it seems most rookies were looking out for prank calls. The Steelers’ first-round selection, Derrick Harmon, told Cam Heyward he had to be sure it wasn’t a prank call when Pittsburgh called him.
The NFL hasn’t expressed that there will be any changes in the future for how teams contact rookies to inform them they’ve been selected, but with so many prank calls being reported by players, a discussion surrounding the matter seems like a logical route at some point.