Apr 17, 2026 5 min read

It doesn’t get much better for sports fans than this week will be in Western Pennsylvania.

The NFL Draft finally comes to Pittsburgh, which is being billed as the largest event ever held in the city. The Penguins are back in the postseason, and get their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the Pirates, though it’s only April, are showing signs of being much improved, perhaps a contender in the National League’s Central Division.

The draft is the big deal for the area. Because of Pittsburgh’s northern location, it will never get to host a Super Bowl. So, the draft is this region’s Super Bowl.

The draft is the NFL’s most popular event other than the Super Bowl. It has grown into America’s biggest non-game sporting event, attracting several hundred thousand fans over three days in the host city.

What makes the draft so enjoyable is that when it ends, everybody has an opinion about how their favorite team fared. Whether they’re a certified draftnik who used to purchase Mel Kiper’s draft guide (the blue book) or just a causal football fan, they can say who their team should have selected instead of another offensive tackle, or who they should have traded up to select in the first round or who will be the missing piece that puts the team into the category of Super Bowl contender.

Draft grades will be given by everybody. And nobody will be right or wrong.

That’s because the only accurate grade will be an incomplete.

Everything involving the draft is purely guesswork, and that includes what is done by the teams. They’re making a more educated guess than anyone else because they’ve done more homework, but there are certainly first-round busts – think Huey Richardson, Jermaine Stephens and Artie Burns – and there are many third day gems and even undrafted surprises like James Harrison and Donnie Shell.

Does anybody remember a spontaneous celebration when the Steelers selected Antonio Brown in the sixth round in 2010? Or when Pittsburgh chose L.C. Greenwood in the 10th round in 1969, back when there was still a 10th round?

We won’t know about any of the draft picks until they get on the field and compete against NFL talent. It will take time, and nobody likes that. As fans, we need instant answers and results, so that’s why so many grades will be floated around.

Instant analysis, however, can be comically bad. For example, when the Steelers had their legendary 1974 draft that produced four future Hall of Fame players, it was panned by one veteran sportswriter who covered the team for a Pittsburgh newspaper. Outside of No. 1 pick Lynn Swann, the writer didn’t think the Steelers helped themselves in the draft.

He wrote of the second round draft pick, “Jack Lambert figures to be the No. 5 linebacker, if he pans out.”

He referred to the rest of the picks as “question marks.” That included John Stallworth (fourth round) and Mike Webster (fifth round). The writer called Webster “excess baggage” and said he was drafted, “primarily to snap the ball at training camp.”

Yes, incomplete will be the only grade worth giving for the next three or four years.

Playoff intensity

It will be interesting to watch the intensity in Penguins-Flyers increase as we get deeper in the series. It is sure to pick up when the series shifts to Philadelphia, where Sidney Crosby is the player Flyers fans love to hate. Crosby has inflicted two decades worth of damage on the Flyers and visibly enjoyed every moment.

So the fans chant and they carry signs that suggest the Penguins’ star player is a whining little girl, “Cindy Crosby.”

Playoff hockey, we’ve missed you in Pittsburgh.

Take the Penguins in six games.

Miller time

I am looking for an honest man. Raise your hand if you predicted back in 2020 that the best relief pitcher in the major leagues in 2026 would be a guy who had just spent four years playing college baseball at Waynesburg.

I don’t see any hands raised.

San Diego’s Mason Miller, who pitched four years (one was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) at Waynesburg and then one at Gardner-Webb, has faced 30 batters this season. He has struck out 23 of them. Miller has struck out 20 of the last 23 batters he’s faced. In 9.1 innings this season, he’s allowed one hit and one walk.

That’s off-the-charts incredible.

Not bad for a kid who had a 10-11 record at Waynesburg.

And Mattson

If you predicted Mason Miller’s success, then you probably knew back in 2022 that Isaac Mattson, a guy who was trying to rebuild his career by pitching out of the bullpen for the Washington Wild Things, would become the Pirates’ most reliable setup reliever in 2026.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com