The NFL draft is one of the biggest days of the entire NFL season. It’s where NFL franchises draft their future stars and other players to help win a Super Bowl. This year, the NFL draft finds itself on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. All 32 NFL franchises will be in the city, along with over 100 top NFL prospects waiting to find their new home.
The draft is separated over three days. Round one takes place on Thursday, round two and three on Saturday, and the final fourth through seventh rounds on Sunday. Thursday is the biggest day, though. Not only is that where the best prospects get drafted, but it is also the day when most people can be expected. Annually, the draft gets around 750 thousand to 1 million football fans to see their favorite team get their franchise cornerstone and other depth players.
The draft will be split over two separate parts of Pittsburgh: the North Shore and Point State Park.
According to the Steelers’ official website, the draft itself will take place on the North Shore and the free fan festival will be held at Point State Park.
The activities include field goal kicking, long snapping, throwing footballs at targets and autograph signings from NFL stars.
Sophomore Brandon Kowcheck said, “It’s a great opportunity for Pittsburgh but there’s going to be bad traffic.”
Pittsburgh already has traffic issues and the addition of upwards of a million people will make traffic getting in and out of the city very difficult. With that, hotels and restaurants are expected to overflow with people with waitlines to get a seat or room. Hotels are being built as far down as Morgantown, West Virginia, to accommodate the influx of people.
With that being said, what can be expected when the draft actually rolls around?
The Las Vegas Raiders hold the first pick in the draft, with the Jets, Cardinals and Titans following.
Kowcheck said, “Fernando Mendoza will be the first pick. He’s got a great character and the Raiders need a quarterback.”
Mendoza led the Indiana Hoosiers to the championship and won the unanimous first pick among fans and experts and for good reason. Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, brought a subpar Indiana football team to a championship and a perfect season. On top of that, this year’s quarterback class isn’t very exciting outside of Mendoza and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who has been speculated to be drafted by multiple teams in the first round.
The big talk locally is what the Steelers will draft. The Steelers need a few positions, including quarterback, since Aaron Rodgers is undecided if he’s coming back to the Steel City.
Senior Javis Pugh said, “The Steelers will take Ty Simpson because they need a quarterback.”
Other top prospects include Arvell Reese, a linebacker who has made a huge jump on draft boards after an elite NFL Combine performance. Another highly touted prospect is Reuben Bain Jr, a generational prospect at defensive end who led the Miami Hurricanes’ defense and helped their run to the National Championship. Other top prospects include Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, and Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey.
All of those players are expected to be in the draft room in Pittsburgh for the draft this year, along with many more.
However, a big part of the draft is the prospects that many don’t think will be much more than a depth piece but end up becoming stars.
Kowcheck said, “Brenan Thompson will be an underrated prospect because he had a good combine.”
With those underrated prospects come some prospects that NFL fans call a “bust”, which is where a prospect isn’t what everyone expected him to be.
Pugh said, “D’Angelo Ponds will be a bust because he’s small.”
With that, only time will tell how these prospects will do once they hear their name called in Pittsburgh to find their future homes.
Time will also tell how Pittsburgh will handle the hundreds of thousands of NFL fans coming to see a once-in-a-lifetime experience while also seeing who may be the future of their favorite NFL team.
