The Miami Dolphins have selected British tight end Seydou Traore in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, making him the first graduate of the NFL Academy in the UK to be drafted. Traore was taken with the 180th overall pick.
Born and raised in London with French-Algerian and Ivorian heritage, Traore began his football journey with the London Warriors as a teenager. He joined the NFL Academy's inaugural class in 2019, then spent five years playing college football in the United States before entering the NFL through the International Player Pathway (IPP) programme.
Former London Warriors player and current NFL defensive end Efe Obada, who announced the Dolphins' pick, praised Traore's achievement: "This isn't just another name on a card, this is living proof that the dream is possible."
Traore becomes the third IPP product to be drafted, following Australia's Jordan Mailata in 2018 and Britain's Travis Clayton in 2024. Standing at 6ft 4in and weighing 244lb, Traore recorded 131 catches for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns across 48 college games, including five touchdowns last season.
Miami's general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan expressed optimism about Traore's potential: "He's kind of a raw, athletic ball of clay... He hasn't been playing football real long, so that was what was intriguing to us. We felt he's a player who's ascending, whose best ball is in front of him."
In the same draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Nigerian Uar Bernard, a player with no prior American football game experience, highlighting the NFL's continued international outreach.