NFL fans torch ESPN for “horrible draft coverage” as network misses Zach Frazier’s moment with children’s hospital patients

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ESPN’s coverage of the recently concluded 2026 NFL draft did not get the best reception, and one gaffe exemplified it.

During Round 3 on Saturday, incoming third-year center Zach Frazier went on stage to announce Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings as his Pittsburgh Steelers’ 224th pick. He brought two young patients from the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for the moment, but ESPN’s panelists failed to recognize and mention it:

The display of ignorance angered many fans:

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@TheSignalCaller Horrible draft coverage. Fire Greeney. Focus on the football not the fluff. Total morons.

@TheSignalCaller My boy Zach is a Trumper. Not surprised ESPN didn’t show it. The CNN of sports media

@TheSignalCaller @espn is cooked. Has been for awhile. Talking jive

@TheSignalCaller @espn sucks…we all know this. It’s not the espn of decades ago. Their production sucks, their coverage sucks, they’d rather have high contracts with morons yapping than cover the content that made them what they became, not shockingly.

@TheSignalCaller And that’s why ya watch the nfl network broadcast instead!!

@TheSignalCaller The draft has jumped the shark 🦈

It was not just fans, however. Former Super Bowl-winning offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz also condemned the situation on social media on Friday:

“ESPN is so far behind on picks. They’re going to have to figure this 8 min thing out because they can’t be 10+ min behind real time. The whole tipping picks thing is irrelevant when you feel like you can’t be on social media because the TV is that delayed.”

ESPN is so far behind on picks. They’re going to have to figure this 8 min thing out because they can’t be 10+ min behind real time. The whole tipping picks thing is irrelevant when you feel like you can’t be on social media because the TV is that delayed.

Notably, failing to notice Frazier being accompanied by the patients was not the only mistake ESPN was criticized for during the draft. During Friday’s Day 2 coverage, Mike Greenberg erroneously said that new Cleveland Browns wide receiver Denzel Boston was the son of former Arizona Cardinal David Boston.

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NFL Network tried to poach ESPN analyst before merger

The 2026 NFL draft was notable in that it was the first since ESPN acquired the NFL Network for $3 billion in January. However, there was one last attempt at talent poaching before it happened.

ESPN’s Day 3 coverage saw Kyle Brandt, a longtime NFL Network fixture and co-host of Good Morning Football, join Rece Davis, Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, and Field Yates for the seventh round. It was there that he made this admission:

“A year ago, I tried to poach Field Yates from this network. I knew his contract was up. There was a secret lunch. I purchased him alcohol. And he said, ‘No.’ And he stayed here. And you made the right choice. You’ve been killing it.”

Yates, who subsequently signed a multi-year extension with ESPN after the proposal, responded:

“Foreshadowing.”

As part of its acquisition of the NFL Network, ESPN and ABC will end their “split doubleheaders”, reassigning the three games assigned there, as well as an ESPN+ exclusive, to the NFL Network’s slate.