Seydou Traore is a tight end and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who finished his collegiate career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs after beginning it with the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Traore was born in London, England, where he grew up playing association football as a goalkeeper before attending the NFL Academy and relocating to Clearwater, Florida, to pursue a Division I football scholarship. He committed to Arkansas State as a three-star recruit and appeared sparingly as a freshman in 2021 before his breakthrough sophomore season in 2022, when he recorded 50 receptions for 655 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Sun Belt Conference in tight end receptions and earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors while ranking fifth nationally among all tight ends in receiving yards. After a redshirt year following his transfer to Mississippi State due to NCAA transfer rules, he appeared in 13 games as a starter for the Bulldogs in 2024, recording 34 receptions for 361 yards and one touchdown in his SEC debut. In 2025 he started 12 of 13 games and finished with 35 receptions for 369 yards and five touchdowns, posting a career-high in scores and contributing the first touchdown of the Bulldogs' season on a 57-yard reception. He was invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl and placed on the Senior Bowl Top 300 list, ending his career with 131 receptions for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns across 48 games with 37 starts.
Standing 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, Traore is known for fluid athleticism inherited from his soccer background that translates into smooth movement down the seam, the ability to accelerate past coverage and make plays on the ball in stride, a developing blocking foundation that has improved steadily across his college career, and a rare international origin story that reflects both remarkable athletic ability and personal resilience. NFL evaluators are intrigued by his physical tools and project meaningful upside given that he had fewer than five years of organized tackle football experience prior to entering the draft process. His route tree and technical consistency as a blocker remain developmental, but teams looking for a long, athletic tight end with a high ceiling and genuine pass-catching instincts should have him on their Day 3 boards as a developmental receiving tight end with upside that has not yet been fully realized.
