Seydou Traore: First NFL Academy Graduate Drafted by Dolphins
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- Seydou Traore was selected by the Miami Dolphins late in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, becoming the first graduate of England's NFL Academy to complete its pathway to the league.
- Traore moved from south London to Clearwater Academy International in Florida as a teenager, recruited by coach Jesse Chinchar after a 6ft 3in highlight reel of one-handed catches caught his eye.
- Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones, who had coached Travis Kelce at Cincinnati, called Traore a clone of Kelce and set up a group video call with the star tight end that convinced the recruit to sign in February 2021.
- Traore transferred from Colorado to Mississippi State in 2023, was forced to sit out the season under NCAA transfer rules, then scored a career-high five touchdowns in 2025 and developed a tea-sipping celebration nodding to British stereotypes.
- Former London Warriors product Efe Obada co-announced Traore's selection on stage alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, calling the moment "passing on the torch" since Obada himself travelled the same London-to-NFL route.
- British defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who helped the Seattle Seahawks win February's Super Bowl, attended the NFL Academy's first tryouts in 2019 and called Traore's draft the realisation of the programme's original vision.
Why it matters: The Dolphins' selection validates the NFL Academy as a viable alternative pipeline to the American college system — which only converts roughly 0.08% of US high school players to the NFL — and Durde's prediction that "there's going to be plenty more" academy graduates signals the NFL's intent to grow its international talent base, with Obada's on-stage handoff serving as deliberate symbolism of that handoff.
