It’s the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft, with the second round set to get underway at 7 p.m. on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
The first day of the event saw an estimated attendance of 320,000 people, according to the NFL — a record number for the first night of a draft.
On Thursday, the Steelers selected Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with the 21st overall pick. Barring a trade, the Steelers are expected to have four picks tonight between rounds two and three.
WESA reporters are out and about, bringing you the latest from inside the draft, as well as the festivities happening around the North Shore, Point State Park and Downtown.
You can find all of WESA’s 2026 NFL Draft Coverage here.
Downtown diner says draft visitors have brought steady business and strong breakfast crowds
While businesses further away from the NFL draft footprint reported smaller than anticipated foot traffic on Thursday, at least one Downtown establishment said the influx of visitors has been good for business.
At Cherries Diner near Market Square, manager Ihtishaam Hussain said the family-run restaurant prepared for the event by adding menu items and extending its hours from early afternoon until 4 p.m.
So far, he said, business has been strongest in the mornings, when fans and visitors stop in for breakfast before heading toward the North Shore and Acrisure Stadium.
“We had a big breakfast rush,” Hussain said. “Then around 12-ish it died down a bit.”
Rachel McDevitt
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90.5 WESA
Owner of Cherries Diner Talib Hussain (left) and his son Ihtishaam. They extended hours for draft days and have had busy breakfast crowds that die off after lunch. But overall they said the draft has been good for business.
Hussain said he initially expected even larger crowds after hearing projections of hundreds of thousands of attendees, before realizing those estimates were spread across the draft’s three days.
Still, he said, the event has so far been positive for the restaurant.
“It’s been really good,” Hussain said. “We’ve got a good amount of sales, a lot of foot traffic coming down in Market Square.”
He added that many of the customers appearing so far seem to be visitors rather than locals, an observation consistent with the expectation that some Pittsburgh residents would stay away from Downtown during draft weekend to avoid the crowds and traffic.
Viral clip suggests Eagles may have jumped Steelers for intended first-round pick
Day two of the 2026 NFL Draft got underway Friday morning with drama in Pittsburgh, where it appeared that the Steelers’ first-round pick Thursday night may not have been the player the team originally wanted to draft.
Footage emerged of University of Southern California wide receiver Makai Lemon on the phone with Steelers general manager Omar Khan Thursday night, while the Dallas Cowboys were on the clock at pick #20 — one slot ahead of the Steelers. Lemon’s family was jumping for joy when the call came through.
The footage cuts to Lemon on the phone with Khan, only for Lemon to say: “Why’s Philly calling?”
It appeared the Steelers were planning to draft Lemon, only to lose the opportunity when the Philadelphia Eagles traded with the Cowboys to jump into the 20th slot and tap Lemon — apparently denying the Steelers their intended choice. Instead, the Steelers drafted Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor.