The 2026 NFL Draft officially got underway Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, marking the first time in the city’s history it has hosted the league’s marquee selection event. Fans from across the country — and from as far away as Australia — began filling Pittsburgh International Airport and streaming toward the North Shore as the three-day spectacle prepared to take shape.
The draft stage and main theater are situated on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, directly outside Acrisure Stadium, home of the Steelers. The NFL Draft Experience fan festival, the league’s free, open-to-all fan gathering, is set up at Point State Park, the celebrated green space at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers. The Roberto Clemente Bridge, one of Pittsburgh’s signature spans, has been closed to vehicle traffic all weekend and converted into a pedestrian fan corridor connecting the two primary sites.
Admission to all draft events is free, with fans registering through the NFL’s official OnePass app or at NFL.com/DraftAccess for a digital QR code to gain entry. The NFL Draft Experience is open Thursday, April 23, from noon to 10 p.m., Friday, April 24, from noon to 10 p.m., and Saturday, April 25, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Round 1 kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday, with the Las Vegas Raiders holding the first overall pick. Rounds 2 and 3 follow Friday at 7 p.m. and the final four rounds wrap up Saturday at noon. All rounds are carried across the league’s national broadcast partners and stream on NFL+.
City officials and organizers projected the three-day event could draw between 500,000 and 700,000 visitors in total, a figure that would rival or surpass last year’s turnout of roughly 600,000 in Green Bay and potentially challenge the all-time attendance record of 775,000 set in Detroit in 2024. Pittsburgh tourism representatives have described the daily flow as comparable to running the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade three days in a row, with estimates of 200,000 to 250,000 attendees per day.
Beyond the draft itself, VisitPITTSBURGH and the NFL have organized a full entertainment slate. Wiz Khalifa and Bret Michaels are performing Friday evening before Round 2 begins, and country artist Kane Brown is scheduled to take the stage Saturday after the final selections are made. The NFL Draft Experience includes autograph sessions with current players and franchise legends, photo opportunities with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and an immersive Steelers Country exhibit featuring all six of the team’s Super Bowl rings.
For South Carolina fans tuning in, the weekend carries added stakes. Clemson University enters the draft with as many as nine players considered draftable, the most Tiger prospects in a single class since 2019. Offensive tackle Blake Miller, who started every game across four seasons at Clemson and set a program record with 3,778 career snaps, is widely projected as a late first-round selection — which would make him the first Clemson offensive lineman taken in the first round since 1960. Edge rusher T.J. Parker and defensive tackle Peter Woods are each expected to come off the board in the first or second round, while cornerback Avieon Terrell, who broke up 28 passes during his Tiger career, is projected as a Day 2 pick after managing a hamstring injury in pre-draft workouts. Defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart, a Hartsville, South Carolina native and six-year Clemson veteran, is regarded as a potential value selection in the later rounds, with analysts noting his quick first step and 4.85-second 40-yard dash at Clemson’s Pro Day.
Head coach Dabo Swinney has publicly stated he believes four of his players are legitimate first-round talents and that the overall class could result in nine total selections — a figure that would tie Clemson’s program record for picks in a single draft class.
The full draft schedule, fan access information, and real-time updates are available through the NFL’s official platforms at NFL.com.
