British tight end Seydou Traore was a late-round pick in the NFL Draft along with Uar Bernard, a Nigerian yet to play a game of American football.

Traore is the first graduate of the UK-based NFL Academy to be drafted, having been selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 180th overall pick.

The 23-year-old has French-Algerian and Ivorian heritage and was born and raised in London, where he played for the London Warriors as a teenager.

He was part of the NFL Academy's first intake in 2019 and spent five years in college football in the USA before showcasing his talent through the NFL's International Player Pathway (IPP) programme this year.

Former Warriors player Efe Obada was the first IPP product to play in the NFL and he went on stage in Pittsburgh to announce the Dolphins' pick.

"This isn't just another name on a card, this is living proof that the dream is possible," said British defensive end Obada, who has witnessed Traore's development having helped the academy from its inception.

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.

Clayton was also part of the NFL Academy's first intake in London but only spent a brief period with the programme, now based in Loughborough, before coming through the IPP.

Traore completed the programme before moving to the US to play high school football in Florida.

He played college football for five years, earning a scholarship with Arkansas State in 2021 before transferring to Mississippi State in 2023.

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. We had our eyes on [him] for a while and he fell to us at the right value, so we took a shot."

Obada, who was born in Nigeria, returned to the draft stage near the end of the seventh and final round to say: "Pittsburgh, you are now witnessing history being made."

He then announced that with the 251st overall pick, the Philadelphia Eagles had selected Bernard, making him the second player from this year's IPP class to be drafted.

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 and thrust him into contention for a late-round pick.

"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.

Mailata had a similar impact on NFL scouts in 2018. The former rugby league player had also never played football, but the Eagles felt they could mould him into an NFL player.

Mailata 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.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was willing to take on the challenge of doing the same with Bernard.

"We wanted to take the chance on the kid," he 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. It was pretty cool. [It's] certainly unusual with that guy."

(BBC)

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