British Tight End Seydou Traore Makes History as First NFL Academy Graduate Drafted

Seydou Traore has become the first graduate of the UK-based NFL Academy to be drafted after being selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 180th overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The 23-year-old London-born tight end, who has French-Algerian and Ivorian heritage, was a fifth-round pick and the first player from the NFL Academy's pathway programme to hear his name called in the draft.

"This isn't just another name on a card, this is living proof that the dream is possible," said British defensive end Efe Obada, who was the first IPP product to play in the NFL and went on stage in Pittsburgh to announce the Dolphins' pick.

Traore played for the London Warriors as a teenager before joining the NFL Academy's first intake in 2019. He then moved to the US to play high school football in Florida, before spending five years in college football at Arkansas State and Mississippi State.

Now 6ft 4in and weighing 244lb (111kg), he caught a total of 131 passes for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns from 48 college games, scoring five of those TDs last season.

"He's kind of a raw, athletic ball of clay, if you will," said Miami's general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. "He should only get better. He hasn't been playing football real long, so that was what was intriguing to us, especially at that value [fifth round]. We felt he's a player who's ascending, whose best ball is in front of him, and who can be a problem for defences in time."

Traore became the third IPP product to be selected in an NFL Draft, after Australia's Jordan Mailata in 2018 and Britain's Travis Clayton in 2024.

The draft continued with another historic moment as Nigerian prospect Uar Bernard was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 251st overall pick in the seventh round.

The 21-year-old, who has been working as a personal trainer, has not yet played organised football but his potential was identified during NFL training camps in Africa. He earned a spot on the IPP programme, where his athleticism astounded NFL scouts.

"It's a dream come true for me because I've worked hard for this," Bernard said. "I've not played football, but I've gone through some drills that made me believe that I'm going to get better every day."

Bernard is 6ft 4in and weighs 306lb (139kg), and has been earmarked as a defensive tackle. He is said to have just 6% body fat and in pre-draft tests he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds and had a 39-inch vertical jump - exceptional figures for a defensive player of his size.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was willing to take on the challenge of developing Bernard, just as the team did with Mailata, who spent two seasons developing on their practice squad before making his first start in 2020. He then helped them win the Super Bowl in 2025 and is now one of the best offensive tackles in the league.

"We wanted to take the chance on the kid," Roseman said. "We've had great success with that programme. We spent a lot of time with him, worked him out. For us, it was a passion project. He's got a lot of tools in his body. [We] understand it's going to take time."