Monday’s “First Call” has unearthed footage related to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Round 1 NFL Draft drama.
The NFL schedule release may be delayed. A Steelers rookie has a hot jersey on the market.
And the Robert Morris lacrosse team is bound for the NCAA Tournament.
Behind the scenes
By now, most Steelers fans have seen the footage of Makai Lemon on the phone with GM Omar Khan as the club was preparing to select the USC wide receiver with the No. 21 pick at this year’s NFL Draft — only to see the Philadelphia Eagles trade in front of the Steelers to steal Lemon away at No. 20.
Philly’s NFC rival, the Dallas Cowboys, were the ones who gave up the 20th pick in a trade that allowed the Eagles to jump up from the 23rd pick.
Now, ESPN has released its “The Pick Is In” show. It features all sorts of behind-the-scenes footage and drama from draft night. One of the teams featured was Dallas.
The network sent out a teaser clip highlighting Dallas’ maneuvering to get Philadelphia to commit to the trade.
The Thursday night draft trade between the Cowboys and Eagles.
The Pick Is In – 7PM ET on ESPN and The ESPN App. pic.twitter.com/6DOfTgWDno
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2026
The Steelers had to pivot at that point. They ended up taking offensive tackle Max Iheanachor out of Arizona State.
Allar brings attention
There is plenty of debate over whether the Steelers were wise to draft Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round. What isn’t up for debate, though, is the curiosity surrounding the pick and the fan engagement with it.
According to online sports retailer Fanatics, Allar’s jersey is fourth among NFL rookies. He trails only Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and Cowboys linebacker Malachi Lawrence.
A look at 10 of the top-selling jerseys from the 2026 NFL Draft picks ???????? pic.twitter.com/CGLnIE9awk
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 1, 2026
Allar is even ahead of the No. 1 pick from Las Vegas, fellow quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
As of now, Allar doesn’t even have a jersey number assigned at Steelers.com. As a Nittany Lion, Allar wore No. 15. Wide receiver Ben Skowronek has that number for the Steelers.
As for one of the players Allar displaced, John Rhys Plumlee, he has a new job. ProFootballTalk.com reports that the former Steelers practice squad QB is joining the Houston Gamblers of the UFL.
Schedule delay
The NFL schedule may not be released as quickly as we are used to seeing. That’s according to John Breech of CBS.com.
Last month, ESPN reported that the NFL schedule release date was likely to be sometime between May 12 and 14. Now it sounds like that date may be pushed back to sometime after May 17.
According to Breech, Mike North, the league’s vice president of broadcast planning, revealed that the release could potentially be pushed back about a week.
“Most fans know full well that the schedule comes out in mid-May now,” North said on the “It’s Always Game Day in Buffalo” podcast. “That’s what we’ve done the last five or six years. That’s sort of our target. Is there any magic to May 12, 13, 14? No. Is there any real downside to (May) 19, 20 or 21? No.”
Apparently, the hangup is a five-game package that the NFL is trying to sell. It’d feature the Australia game in Week 1 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, a potential Thanksgiving Eve game, a second Black Friday game, a Christmas Eve game and one other game.
Breech says YouTube, Fox and Netflix are all in the running to broadcast that batch of games.
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RMU enters the chat
After winning the NEC for a second consecutive season, the Robert Morris men’s lacrosse team has learned its bracket placement for the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials will host an Opening Round game against Jacksonville at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will visit No. 2 Notre Dame at noon Sunday.
RMU got into the tournament by virtue of claiming the NEC crown over Long Island University at Joe Walton Stadium on Saturday night. The Colonials won 8-7 on a last-second goal by Graeme MacLennan.
ABSOLUTE SCENES IN THE NEC!!!! ????????????
Graeme MacLennan LOW-TO-HIGH RISER to WIN the Conference tournament with 1.8 seconds left!@RMUMLacrosse are NEC CHAMPS! ???? pic.twitter.com/2hhA0ad1hB
— Inside Lacrosse (@Inside_Lacrosse) May 2, 2026
This marks the fifth time and second consecutive year RMU has participated in the NCAA Tournament, having also competed in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Jacksonville won the Atlantic Sun thanks to a 16-7 win over Air Force on Sunday. This is the first conference title for the Dolphins.