The Las Vegas Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the NFL Draft, but an anonymous prank call told the young running back he had been traded to his hometown Dallas Cowboys.FRISCO — There was a time when Ashton Jeanty was a lock to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Following the end of the regular season, all early projections tabbed the star running back to the Cowboys.
A lot in that move made sense. The Cowboys would be addressing a need in the backfield while landing a hometown kid in Jeanty who played his high school ball in Frisco.
Flash forward to April and Jeanty’s stock improved so much that he moved out of reach for Dallas. The Las Vegas Raiders selected him with the No. 6 pick.
Both sides come away happy. Jeanty gets to star for a historic franchise while the Cowboys settled on a lineman they love in Tyler Booker. But there was a moment where Jeanty was tricked into thinking the opposite.
The running back reportedly received a prank call following his selection that told him he was being traded from the Raiders to the Cowboys, as he told Fansided.
Clearly, Jeanty was not buying that nonsense, recalling, “Some dude was like, yea you just got traded from the Raiders to the Cowboys and I just hung up bro.”
🚨Ashton Jeanty received a prank call on draft day, “Some dude was like, yea you just got traded from the #Raiders to the #Cowboys and I just hung up bro” pic.twitter.com/sks8hepiYh
— ShifftttyyyQB1🏴☠️ (@raiders1022) May 2, 2025
Jeanty was not the only prospect who fell victim to the draft call hijinks. Several told of similar experiences, including superstar rookie Shedeur Sanders whose case became widely publicizes this week.
The culprit was found to be the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. The team and Ulbrich were charged steep fines in response for not safeguarding classified information.
But it appears the leak was widespread, representing a larger security problem on the league’s hands when they prepare for the draft process next season.
Either way, Jeanty appears satisfied with his new home. Though he may have not gotten the homecoming that he and some Cowboys hoped for, Jeanty should be a key cog in the Las Vegas rebuild.
