Erick Hallett may not have had his ringer on during the 2023 NFL Draft’s sixth round.
According to the Jaguars, the team had a hard time getting the cornerback from the University of Pittsburgh on the phone about his selection.
“One guy we couldn’t get on the phone,” Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke told reporters. “I believe it was … let me see if I can recall. I think it was Erick Hallett.”
“Went straight to voicemail,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “Twice.”
It’s unknown whether Hallet’s phone died, if he didn’t have cell service or if he was simply away from his phone, but Jacksonville eventually got hold of Hallett, who was thrilled to hear of where his next step would be.
“Once he got on the phone, he was fired up,” Baalke said.
Hallet, at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, was a starter for 13 games in his senior season and in his four years at Pitt, he tallied seven interceptions with 7.5 tackles for loss and one touchdown.
Pederson and Baalke added three players in the sixth round, including Hallett, who joins a big group of defensive backs to fight for roster spots alongside fifth-round pick Antonio Johnson out of Texas A&M.
Perhaps the biggest addition this upcoming season for the Jaguars, who at 9-8 made the playoffs last season for the first time in five years, was wide receiver Calvin Ridley, whom they acquired from the Falcons in a November trade.
Ridley was suspended in March of 2022 for gambling on NFL games for a five-day stretch in November of 2021.
After sitting out the entire 2022 season, he has been reinstated for the 2023 campaign.