A London-raised tight end who didn't play organized football until his senior year of high school, Seydou Traore turned an NFL Academy stint into a fifth-round pick.
Seydou Traore's path to the Dolphins runs through three different college programs and a soccer goal before it ever touched a football field. Born in France to Algerian and Ivorian parents and raised in London, Traore discovered football through the NFL Academy before finishing high school in Florida. He landed in Miami as a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft after two productive seasons as Mississippi State's starting tight end.
Path to the league
Traore grew up playing soccer, mainly as a goalkeeper, before picking up football at the NFL Academy in London and finishing his prep career at Clearwater Academy International in Florida. He started at Arkansas State in 2021, broke out as a sophomore with 50 catches for 655 yards and first-team All-Sun Belt honors, then transferred to Colorado for a single semester before landing at Mississippi State, where he sat out 2023 under transfer rules and became the Bulldogs' starter for 2024 and 2025.
Career highlights
Across 48 college games and 37 starts, Traore caught 131 passes for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was the first tight end drafted out of Mississippi State since Jordan Thomas in 2018, and his selection at pick 180 made him the first player ever drafted after graduating from the NFL Academy program.
2025 season recap
In his final year at Mississippi State, Traore caught 30 passes for 291 yards and a team-leading 5 touchdowns as the Bulldogs' primary receiving tight end. The production helped push him from a fringe prospect into a fifth-round selection by Miami in April 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Seydou Traore (American football)
- Miami Dolphins: Fast Facts - Seydou Traore
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Tight End
- Group
- offense
- College
- Mississippi State
- Hometown
- London, England
- Age
- 24
- Status
- active
