2026 NFL Draft Blog: Taking shape

The Steelers
13 Apr 2026, 23:30 GMT+10

Teresa Varley

The NFL Draft will take place in Pittsburgh from April 23-25, with plenty of free activities for fans of all ages to enjoy throughout the three-day extravaganza hosted by the NFL, in partnership with VisitPITTSBURGH and the Steelers.

From the Draft Stage and Main Theater, North Shore, and Point State Park, there will be no shortage of fun activities, with plenty of it having Steelers flavor.

All activities are free through the NFL OnePass App,which fans can download here.

Monday, April 13

Taking shape:It won't be long until the NFL Draft Theater and Stage is completed outside of Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore, as more of the stage has come into view over the last few days.

The area is looking more like the initial renderings that were released by the league, and that is something that has people feeling good.

"It's pretty rewarding and hats off to our team, the design team, the build team that really bring it to life," said Steve Farago, director of event operations for the NFL and the individual who is overseeing the building project. "It's uncanny how realistic the actual build is to the render. Every year I see it. We put out these beautiful drawings and renders. The shots of the rivers and North Shore.

"Then come the first night of the Draft, when everything's lit up and built on April 23, you're going to look back at the render and say, 'Wow, this is really close to what the render looked like.'

"So, to be able to take that from its early period of design and vision and then fast forward to when it's actually built is pretty special and it's a big congratulations to the entire team, local, NFL and our production partners to be able to bring that to life."

Thursday, April 9

Prospects headed to Pittsburgh:A total of 16 prospects are confirmed to attend the 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light in Pittsburgh.

Three colleges Ohio State (five players), Alabama (two) and Miami (Fla.) (two) will have multiple players on-site. The Big Ten leads all conferences with six prospects confirmed to attend, followed by the Southeastern Conference (five), Atlantic Coast Conference (two), Big 12 (two) and Independent (one).

The Draft begins with the first round on Thursday night, April 23, and continues Friday, April 24, with Rounds 2-3. The Draft will conclude on Saturday, April 25, with Rounds 4-7.

The NFL Draft, which was held in Green Bay last year, will be hosted in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1948 and in the state of Pennsylvania for the first time since 2017.

The players confirmed to attend this year's NFL Draft to date:

1. David Bailey LB Texas Tech

2. Rueben Bain Jr. DE Miami

3. Mansoor Delane DB LSU

4. Caleb Downs DB Ohio State

5. Keldric Faulk DE Auburn

6. Colton Hood DB Tennessee

7. Makai Lemon WR USC

8. Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame

9. Francis Mauigoa OL Miami

10. Kayden McDonald DT Ohio State

11. Kadyn Proctor T Alabama

12. Arvell Reese LB Ohio State

13. Ty Simpson QB Alabama

14. Sonny Styles LB Ohio State

15. Carnell Tate WR Ohio State

16. Jordyn Tyson WR Arizona State

2026 NFL Draft Details:

WHAT:

91st Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting.

WHERE:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

WHEN:

8 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 23 (Round 1).

7 p.m. ET, Friday, April 24 (Rounds 2-3).

Noon ET, Saturday, April 25 (Rounds 4-7).

The first round will conclude on Thursday by approximately 10:30 p.m. ET. In 2025, the first round consumed three hours and 29 minutes. The second and third rounds will conclude on Friday by approximately 11 p.m. ET. The second and third rounds took a combined four hours and 12 minutes in 2025. The draft will conclude by approximately 7 p.m. ET on Saturday with the final four rounds. Rounds four through seven took six hours and 57 minutes in 2025.

ROUNDS:

Seven Rounds Round 1 on Thursday, April 23; Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, April 24; and Rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday, April 25.

TIME LIMITS:

Round 1: 8 minutes per selection.

Round 2: Seven minutes per selection.

Rounds 3 through 6, including compensatory picks: Five minutes per selection.

Round 7, including compensatory picks: Four minutes per selection.

TELEVISION & RADIO:

The 2026 NFL Draft will be televised nationally by NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and can be heard nationwide on Westwood One Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio and ESPN Radio.

MOBILE:

Live NFL Network coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft is available across devices (smartphone, PC, tablet and connected TVs) through the NFL app or NFL.com/watch for subscribers of participating NFL Network providers and on NFL+. For more information, go to NFL.com/nflnetwork.

NFL CHANNEL:

Additional live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh is available on the NFL Channel, the NFL's free ad-supported streaming offering, with NFL Draft Center. Mike Yam, Bucky Brooks and Lance Zierlein anchor the coverage Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday at noon ET. The NFL Channel is available on the NFL App, Roku Channel, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi, Vizio WatchFree, Xumo Play, LG and at NFL.com/nflchannel.

Tuesday, April 7

Taking the next step:Over a week ago, construction began on the Stage and Draft Theater for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and the next phase is now in progress.

While the arches were the first structure to be put in place, another layer has now been added, with the 'skins' of the theater being wrapped over the arches.

"We're on time, right where we need to be for the theater," said Steve Farago, director of event operations for the NFL and the individual who is overseeing the building project. "I just spoke to our production lead and we're putting on what we call the skins of the theater, which are the outer layer that wrap around the truss arches that were built over the last couple days. So that's where we are the process now.

"We'll continue to finalize that phase of it. And then we'll start to work inside the theater and bring in some of those production elements. So, it's getting the bones of the structure up over the last week or so, putting the skins on it now, and then, we'll work inside of the theater probably towards the end of the week."

The process of building the Draft Stage and Theater isn't a simple one, and takes almost an entire month, with the first sign of it beginning on March 28 and continuing until Draft week.

"It's almost a four-week process," said Farago. "The first trucks rolled in on March 28 with the equipment for the theater. It will be an ongoing build up until probably about Monday or Tuesday of Draft week.

"The big portion of the structure is up now. The next step will be rigging for a lot of the lights that we bring in, the screens that are going to be hung, some of the decor.

"So, every day you guys go out there and see the theater, there'll be a new element added in, but we'll work on that right up until event week. We usually put the finishing touches on that Tuesday and then Wednesday before the Draft starts, we'll do rehearsals and walkthroughs. But it's almost a full month process to get it built and ready to go."

Showings add for 'The Football Town':With the NFL Draft only weeks away, the Kamin Science Center announced that a select number of special evening showtimes of "The Football Town," exclusively showing at the Rangos Giant Cinema, have been released.

Football is part of what makes Western Pennsylvania special, and the story of the rich tradition is being told in 'The Football Town', a special NFL Films presentation produced in partnership with the Steelers, VisitPITTSBURGH and U.S. Steel in advance of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.

Evening screenings will take place on select dates in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. Visitors are encouraged to secure tickets in advance online, as showings are expected to sell out.

-- >>View the full schedule and order tickets today

Shop in Steelers Style:With the NFL Draft Stage and Theater under construction, the Steelers Pro Shop has been temporarily re-located to 275 North Shore Drive, within steps from Acrisure Stadium and the site of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The store is open 7 days a week, 10 am-5 pm ET, (except for April 5) and is still your place for all the latest Steelers and NFL Draft merchandise. Extended hours will be announced for the NFL Draft.

New items are arriving on a regular basis, including the unique Limited Edition 2026 Draft Poster.

Stop by today and shop al the latest collections.

Thursday, April 2

Stage is being set:A sure sign that the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh is coming fast is the progress on the NFL Draft Theater and Stage just outside of Acrisure Stadium.

As of today, it's 21 days until the NFL Draft will start in Pittsburgh, and excitement is building.

The construction has been on-going for several days now, with a feel for the scope of the structure starting to come into focus.

According to the NFL, the structure weighs almost 1.5 million pounds with 1.4 miles of truss. It will include over 2,700 automated lighting fixtures as part of the full construction of all areas of the theater, which includes the green room, and the theater will have 1,317 LED video panels.

Draft entertainment announced:The NFL announced the headline acts for the free NFL Draft Entertainment Series presented by Bud Light, with plenty of Pittsburgh flavor a part of it.

Pittsburgh's own Wiz Khalifa, and Pittsburgh-area native and diehard Steelers fan Bret Michaels will perform on Friday, April 24.

Global country music superstar Kane Brown will bring the NFL Draft to a close when he performs on Saturday, April 25.

Khalifa and Michaels will take the stage prior to Day 2 of the Draft at 5:15 p.m., before Rounds 2 and 3 begin.

"Coming home to Pittsburgh for the Draft is pretty special," said Khalifa. "This city raised me, and the energy here is different. Being back with the fans and representing the city in a moment like this just feels right."

Michaels performed at halftime of the Steelers Wild Card game last season and is excited to hit the stage for the Draft.

"I cannot be more honored, excited and fired up to be asked to perform at the Pittsburgh 2026 Draft on Friday night," said Michaels. "As a Pittsburgh native and a diehard fan of the Steelers, the NFL and all things Pittsburgh, this is a dream come true."

Brown will perform on Saturday, April 25, at the conclusion of the Draft, and it's not the first time he has performed for a football crowd in Pittsburgh. Brown performed his hit 'Homesick' for the Steelers Salute to Service game in 2018 at Acrisure Stadium.

"The Draft is one of those weekends where you can feel how much the game means to people," said Brown. "Fans, players, the whole city, everyone's part of it. Being here for that is going to be unforgettable."

The Draft will kick off on Thursday, April 23, with another Pittsburgh native, KELS, who will perform the National Anthem. In addition, the James Weldon Johnson Foundation's National Hymn Choir, featuring The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh, will perform the hymn 'Lift Every Voice and Sing.'

The store is open 7 days a week, 10 am-5 pm ET, (except for April 5) and is still your place for all the latest Steelers and NFL Draft merchandise. Extended hours will be announced for the NFL Draft.

New items are arriving on a regular basis, including the unique Limited Edition 2026 Draft Poster.

Stop by today and shop al the latest collections.

Evening screenings will take place on select dates in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. Visitors are encouraged to secure tickets in advance online, as showings are expected to sell out.

-- >>View the full schedule and order tickets today