5 cities that should host future NFL Drafts

#1 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

If any city deserves to host a modern NFL draft, it must be Pittsburgh. Sure, they did host the draft in 1948-1949, but that was 74 years ago, long before the NFL draft became the fan spectacle it has evolved into.

There are several reasons the draft should come to Pittsburgh. First, they have been family owned since the Steelers were founded, and the Rooneys highly respected in the NFL. No one can deny Dan Rooney's impact on the NFL in terms of collective bargaining and taking the lead on increasing the role of minorities in coaching and front-office positions in the NFL.

Second, the Steelers dynasty created in the 1970s is still unrivaled today. Not even the dynasty of the Patriots and 49ers managed to win four titles in six seasons. One can even argue they were the uncrowned champs in 1976, only losing the AFC Championship game that year because they had no running game because Franco Harris and Rocky Blier sat out because of injuries.

Third, it’s just a great panoramic city for a televised event. The view from Mt. Washington at night is always spectacular. You have the confluence of three rivers meeting in downtown Pittsburgh. That aside, there is no shortage of great food, and you have Primanti Brothers, the strip district, and limitless kegs of Iron City Beer. Of course, you can always grab yourself a Roethlisberger at Peppi’s.

No one can doubt AFC North cities, nor the others on this list, are great football cities and sports towns and are more than capable of hosting the NFL’s second-largest sports production next to the Superbowl. So are the other cities on the list. Sure the NFL can take future NFL drafts to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Arizona, or any location in Florida, but why? They get the all the Superbowls. Thus it makes more sense to take future drafts to the blue-collar sports towns. In the end, it’s fans that caused the NFL draft to evolve into the spectacle it is today.