Seydou Traore: Born in France and raised in London, Miami Dolphins pick British tight end in NFL Draft
Mississippi State tight end Seydou Traore from the International Pathway Program is drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round; Traore was born in France, raised in London to a dad from the Ivory Coast and a mum from Algeria
Traore, who is 6ft 4in and weighs 244lb (111kg), made history as the first drafted player via the NFL's International Player Pathway Program.
The 23-year-old was born in France and grew up in London but moved to Flordia in 2020, when he played 11 v 11 football for the first time.
Traore caught a total of 131 passes for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns in college games and averaged 6.5 yards after the catch.
"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."
He joins a tight end group that includes Greg Dulcich and third-round pick Will Kacmarek.
Traore caught 69 passes in two seasons at Mississippi State, hauling in a career-best five touchdowns last season and is the second tight end drafted by the Dolphins in this year's draft.
Traore had 752 receiving yards and four TDs during his final two collegiate seasons
12th overall (from Cowboys) - Kadyn Proctor, T, Alabama
27th overall (from 49ers) - Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
43rd overall - Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
75th overall - Caleb Douglas, WR, Texas Tech
87th overall (from Eagles) - Will Kacmarek, TE, Ohio State
94th overall (from Broncos) - Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
138th overall (from 49ers) - Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
158th overall (from Panthers) - Michael Taaffe, S, Texas
177th overall (from Cowboys) - Kevin Coleman, Jr., WR, Missouri
180th overall (from Cowboys) - Seydou Traore, TE, Mississippi State
238th overall (from Chargers via Titans via Jets)
Meanwhile, Uar Bernard, a Nigerian yet to play a game of NFL, was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 251st overall 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."
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