A three-year starter at Maryland who once split time between football and lacrosse, Dante Trader Jr. brought instinctive tackling to Miami's secondary as a rookie.
Dante Trader Jr. is a safety who spent four seasons at Maryland, developing into one of the Big Ten's most reliable tacklers before the Miami Dolphins drafted him in the fifth round in 2025. A native of Delmar, Delaware who briefly juggled Maryland's football and lacrosse programs, Trader carried a physical, high-effort style into his rookie NFL season.
Path to the league
Trader committed to Maryland out of McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, and became a three-year starter for the Terrapins, finishing his college career with 190 tackles, 16 pass deflections, five interceptions and a forced fumble. He also spent a season on Maryland's lacrosse team. The Dolphins selected him in the fifth round with the 155th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Trader was Pro Football Focus's highest-graded tackler in the Big Ten during his college career and earned recognition off the field as well, landing on the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee list. He also played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and worked out at the NFL Scouting Combine ahead of the draft.
2025 season recap
Trader appeared in all 17 games for Miami as a rookie, making three starts, and posted 55 total tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection, showing early on the tackling instincts that defined his college career.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Dante Trader Jr.
- ESPN: Dante Trader Jr.
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | dolphins | 17 | 55 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Safety
- Group
- defense
- College
- Maryland
- Hometown
- Delmar, DE, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
