Patriots' Strange thought 1st-round selection was a prank

It took guard Cole Strange a few moments to believe the New England Patriots were drafting him in the first round this year.

Strange thought he was being pranked when he received a call from an unknown number with the Patriots on the clock April 28, his father, Greg, told Chris Mason of MassLive.com.

"(Cole) said, 'Sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful at all, but I've gotta know because I've got some crazy friends: Is this a prank?'"

The Patriots representative then put head coach Bill Belichick on the phone.

"As soon as I heard Bill Belichick's voice, Cole and I both started screaming and hugging and acting crazy. Probably saying a bunch of inappropriate stuff. We were so excited," Greg added. "To his credit - you've gotta love the guy - Belichick is sitting there, and when we got through, the first break he had, he said, 'Hey Cole, you've gotta act like you've been there, man.' It was classic to us. We absolutely loved it."

New England chose Strange at No. 29 overall. The selection was one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 NFL Draft, as experts predicted the Chattanooga product would be taken late on Day 2.