In what is an overdue move, the NFL draft could finally be coming to Pittsburgh. According to 93.7 The Fan’s Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson, they’re hearing NFL personnel flew into the city last weekend to scout the landscape and the viability of holding the 2026 NFL Draft in the Steel City.
“A trustworthy birdy said that there were scouts [here] last weekend to see if Pittsburgh can host the 2026 NFL Draft,” Crowley said, via The Fan’s Andrew Limberg.
Dickerson went on to add that he thinks the move has essentially already been confirmed by the league, though no official announcement has been made.
Last weekend would’ve meant they were in town for the Steelers-Jaguars game. Ultimately, it was a Pittsburgh Steelers loss where the energy of the city wasn’t as high as it is today, coming off a Thursday night win over the Tennessee Titans, but much of what the league is looking for goes beyond that. It is looking at potential locations to hold the draft and the overall layout of the city to see if putting one of the NFL’s marquee events there makes sense. The draft is a three-day event with the first round on Thursday night, the second round Friday night, and rounds three through seven starting Saturday at noon and running throughout the day.
Locations for the 2024 and 2025 NFL Drafts have already been spoken for. Next year’s draft will take place in Detroit while the 2025 edition will be held in Green Bay, Wisc. Previously, the league held the 2021 Draft in Cleveland and, of course, it was held at Radio City Music Hall for decades. Clearly, there’s no concern about potentially chilly late April weather putting a damper on the event.
Holding the draft in Pittsburgh makes a ton of sense. The city would turn out for it, it would be great for local businesses, and it’s a football town that would embrace the event. Frankly, it’s surprising Pittsburgh hasn’t been awarded the draft yet. While not confirmed, hopefully these reports are true.
Official word won’t likely be known until next May. It took until May 22 of this year for the league to announce the 2025 draft was headed to Green Bay as the league plans these things out two years in advance.
The Steelers were one of the NFL teams to participate in the very first NFL Draft, held in 1936. Then known as the Pirates, with the third overall pick, Pittsburgh selected William Shakespeare from Notre Dame. Seriously, that was his name. But he never suited up for the team, opting out of playing professional football, which was still looked down upon compared to the “pure” college game. It was a common decision from players that year. The first-ever draft pick, Philadelphia’s Jay Berwanger, took a job with a rubber company instead of playing in the NFL. It’s safe to say the draft is a little more important these days.
