On April 23 to 25, the NFL 2026 draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The draft always brings a lively atmosphere, and this year in Pittsburgh will be no different, given the deep-rooted love of football in the city. This year’s draft takes place on the city’s North Shore at venues including Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park, marking the first time the city has hosted the draft since 1948.
The draft has weathered the test of time since its introduction 90 years ago, in 1936. This year, in an effort to make the draft more watchable and speed up the broadcast, the time each team has on the clock has dropped from 10 minutes per pick to eight. Throughout the seven rounds of the draft, every team will have multiple chances to pick promising college players in the hopes of turning them into their next young star. This year’s class is deep on the defensive side of the ball, with many great edge rushers and safety depth, but also has a highly regarded quarterback in national champion and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, expected to go first overall.
The draft order is based on teams’ records from the previous season, with trades allowed between teams to increase their pick count or position on the draft board. This year, the top five draft picks in order (barring last-minute trades) are the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants. The Raiders have been the main point of questions, as they look to draft Fernando Mendoza and potentially start him as a rookie. That said, the Raiders’ front office has made moves pointing towards developing him behind a veteran for a few years with their April signing of Kirk Cousins. Mendoza was a rising star during the 2025 college season, eclipsing big quarterback names like Alabama’s Ty Simpson, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Miami’s Carson Beck, among others. He led the Hoosiers to their best season in program history and an undefeated national championship, a feat in and of itself, especially given the Hoosiers’ reputation as a failing program only two seasons prior.
Sadly, both New York teams being in the bottom five of the league is no surprise to NFL fans, but given their early picks in this year’s draft, they will get some of the best (most likely non-quarterback) players on board. The Jets are eyeing defensive stalwarts like Arvell Reese (Ohio State University), while the Giants are desperate for offensive line help, such as Francis Mauigoa (University of Miami) or a secondary boost with Caleb Downs (Ohio State University).
There will be some interesting anomalies in different position groups. For instance, Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame’s standout running back over the past two seasons, is touted as a top-five prospect, which is out of the ordinary for running backs. Love’s career is a very interesting story and is definitely worth learning about. On top of that, in line with the defensive theme of this year’s draft, the aforementioned Caleb Downs and Oregon’s standout safety Dillon Thieneman are both seen as generational talents and obvious first-round picks, barring anything crazy (like the Laremy Tunsil incident). Some teams desperately need a top wide receiver and may look to the draft for answers, namely teams like the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, looking towards names like Carnell Tate (Ohio State University) or Makai Lemon (University of Southern California).
In writing this over a week out from day one of the draft, there are already rumors of the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys making moves into the top 10, especially with Dallas’ trade away of Micah Parsons prior to the 2025 season. And while the hometown Steelers will not be on the board until pick number 21, analysts say they would be smart to look for a receiver, offensive lineman or safety, which is sure to bring a big celebration to the crowd.
A couple of player-specific stories to mention in the first round include Clemson University’s Blake Miller, who has 54 straight starts (the most starts by a non-specialist in program history), which brings veteran-like experience to whatever team might draft him; expect him to be a safe round one pick. Wide receivers Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State University) and Makai Lemon (University of Southern California) are expected to be value risers who will go in the first round. In terms of quarterbacks, looking past Mendoza, Ty Simpson (Alabama) is expected to be number two, with a very quarterback-light first two rounds according to Mel Kiper.
Regardless of which team you root for, the draft is fun for everyone, as fan bases hope to land their next franchise player. All 257 of these young men take a leap of faith with their future team, and the multi-million-dollar contracts won’t hurt either.