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NFL starters don’t always come from the most obvious places. That’s why the league started an NFL International Player Pathway Program in 2017.
For the program’s sixth season, the four AFC South teams will have one international player added to each of their rosters. The Indianapolis Colts are getting defensive back Marcel Dabo.
Playing for Stuttgart Surge in Germany last season, Dabo earned a spot on the 2021 European Football League All-Star team. He also won the ELF Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
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NFL International Player Pathway Program Enters Its Sixth Season
The NFL founded the International Player Pathway Program in an attempt “to strengthen the pipeline of international players” and “provide elite international athletes the opportunity to compete at the NFL level.”
The ultimate goal of the program is to have international players be good enough to earn spots on NFL rosters.
Each year of the program, the NFL assigns one worthy international player to the four teams in the same division. This year, because of a random draw, the AFC South will be that division.
The four AFC South teams will carry their assigned international player on their roster until the end of training camp. Then at that time, the players in the program are eligible for a practice squad exemption.
Essentially, the Colts will be able to carry one extra player on their practice squad if they retain Dabo after training camp.
Just like normal practice squad players, the international players exempt from the practice squad can be elevated to the active roster during the season.
Here are the four participants in the program this year:
- Marcel Dabo, Defensive Back, Indianapolis Colts, Germany
- Adedayo Odeleye, Defensive Lineman, Houston Texans, United Kingdom
- Thomas Odukoya, Tight End, Tennessee Titans, Netherlands
- Ayo Oyelola, Defensive Back, United Kingdom, Jacksonville Jaguars
With those four additions, the NFL has assigned 24 players to clubs through six years of the program. All four of the players appointed to the NFC West teams last year, and the four players assigned to the NFC East teams in 2020 are still training in the league.
Marcel Dabo Assigned to the Indianapolis Colts
In Dabo, the Colts are receiving one of the best young defensive backs from the European League last season.
He recorded 28 tackles and one interception for the Stuttgart Surge. He also returned kickoffs for the club.
At the NFL International Combine last October, Dabo recorded the fastest 40-yard dash time of all the participants. Second place also wasn’t even close, as Dabo posted a time of 4.525 seconds. No other player had a time under 4.59 seconds.
Colts writer Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated wrote that had Dabo performed drills at the 2022 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, his workout scores “would’ve been among the most explosive cornerback results in this year’s draft class.”
Dabo is one of seven defensive backs the Colts have added to their roster this offseason. Joining Dabo as a rookie in the secondary will be Maryland defensive back Nick Cross, who the Colts selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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