Each year, the NFL draft makes the dreams of hundreds of prospective professional athletes come true.
This week's 2026 event is no different, as picks Nos. 1 through 257 wait to hear their name on stage in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
Among the players taking it all in at the draft in person, four are individuals from the International Player Pathway (IPP) program class of 2026: defensive lineman Uar Bernard, defensive lineman Joshua Weru, tight end Seydou Traore and kicker Kansei Matsuzawa.
The IPP program was established by the NFL in 2017 to identify top talent from around the globe and provide those selected athletes with an opportunity to develop to a degree they can one day make an NFL roster. Athletes in the 13-member '26 class were invited to a 10-week program in Fort Myers, Florida, which began in January and culminated with an opportunity to showcase their skills for scouts at the .
Previous IPP success stories include players such as Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, Houston Texans fullback Jakob Johnson and New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth.
Over the coming weekend, Bernard, Weru, Traore and Matsuzawa will be on-site hoping to join those ranks.
Here's what you need to know about them:
DL Uar Bernard (Country: Nigeria)
Bernard, who speaks four languages, played soccer and basketball in his youth before becoming aware of American football through a regional football camp in Africa. On top of his more traditional strength and conditioning work, Bernard has also employed more creative means to develop into an NFL prospect, using YouTube to study pass-rushing techniques and turning tree trunks into training equipment.
Such drive has delivered tremendous results for the 6-foot-4, 306-pound lineman, as seen by his performance at the HBCU combine in March where he set multiple HBCU combine records. His 4.63-second 40-yard dash, 39-inch vertical jump and 10-10 broad jump were each the best ever recorded in the event's history for a player over 300 pounds, and his broad jump was over a foot longer than any defensive tackle at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
DL Joshua Weru (Country: Kenya)
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Weru also played cricket and field hockey in his youth before moving to England at 14 and being selected to the Northampton Saints academy system as a rugby prospect. Weru eventually left school to begin an international rugby career with Kenya's national team and, at 19, scored against the United States during the Rugby World Cup qualifiers.
His efforts earned him an opportunity to join a second-division rugby team in France, but Weru instead began transitioning toward American football, inspired by former IPP participant and rugby player Christian Wade, who spent multiple seasons on the Buffalo Bills practice squad.
Like Bernard, Weru's testing was top tier at the HBCU Combine. His 4.45-second 40-yard dash and 41-inch vertical jump both ranked first among edge rushers, while his 11-foot-2 broad jump tied for first.
TE Seydou Traore (Country: UK/Algeria/Côte d'Ivoire)
Traore, 23, grew up in England and first participated in American-style football as a teenager, competing in 9-on-9 football for the London Warriors. He entered the NFL Academy a year later at age 17, and eventually played his first 11-on-11 football at Clearwater Academy, a high school in Florida.
From there, Traore switched from wide receiver to tight end as he transitioned to collegiate football with Arkansas State in 2021. He contributed 62 receptions for 752 yards and four touchdowns over the next two seasons, and during his junior and senior campaigns as a Mississippi State transfer from 2024-25 tallied 730 yards and six scores on 69 catches. Traore participated in this year's East-West Shrine Bowl.
A pass-catching threat at tight end, he ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash with a 6.95-second three-cone drill and a 40-inch vertical jump at the HBCU combine.
K Kansei Matsuzawa (Country: Japan)
Matsuzawa, 27, is approaching the draft having already delivered a prolific collegiate career at the University of Hawaii.
An Ichikawa, Japan native, Matsuzawa was originally a soccer player before attending an NFL game in the United States and setting his sights on a career change. He taught himself how to kick the pigskin by studying YouTube videos, eventually making his first real inroads in the sport at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio.
He then transferred to Hawaii, where he blossomed into one of the top kickers in the nation. Matsuzawa converted 27 of 29 field goals in 2025 as a senior and made all 40 of his extra-point attempts to lead the Mountain West Conference with 121 points. The first consensus All-American in program history, he tied an FBS record with 25 consecutive made field goals to begin a season and joined 17-year NFL veteran Jason Elam as the only other Rainbow Warrior to be named a Lou Groza Award finalist.