Thomas Odukoya

Thomas Ayodele Odukoya (born May 5, 1997) is a Dutch professional American football tight end. From the Netherlands, he played college football at West Hills–Coalinga, Garden City and Eastern Michigan and joined the Tennessee Titans as part of the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP) in . He has also been a member of the New England Patriots.

Early life Odukoya was born on May 5, 1997, in Amsterdam and raised in Almere. He was born to a Dutch mother and Nigerian father. He grew up playing association football (soccer) but left the sport before high school. At age 16, he was brought to a practice of the Flevo Phantoms American football team and "fell immediately in love" with the sport for what he called "the sheer violence of the game and just the physicality of it."

College career Wanting to play football in the United States, Odukoya looked for opportunities to play college football for a year, uploading a YouTube highlight video of himself and joining a Facebook group devoted to helping foreign players earn athletic scholarships. Mainly used as a blocker, he played eight games for Eastern Michigan in 2018 before appearing in 13 games in 2019, six in 2020, and 13 in his final season, 2021. He was named team captain as a senior in 2021 and was selected third-team all-conference after posting 13 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Professional career

Tennesse Titans After going unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, Odukoya joined the Tennessee Titans as part of the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP). On January 10, 2023, Odukoya signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans.

In the 2023 offseason, Odukoya received praise from head coach Mike Vrabel saying that they "lucked out" in finding him. Following the end of the 2023 regular season, the Titans signed him to a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024.

In the Titans' 2024 preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints, Odukoya made a touchdown-saving tackle on Saints returner Samson Nacua, with Fox News noting that he "appeared to run more than 150 yards in total" to make the play. Afterwards, the Titans announced on August 27 that he had made the team's 53-man roster for the 2024 season. This put him in a position to be the first Dutch-born NFL player in 24 years. He made his NFL debut in the special teams, in Week 7 when the Titans faced the Buffalo Bills in the Highmark Stadium. He was waived on November 2, and re-signed to the practice squad. On December 7, Odukoya was a standard gameday elevation to play special teams in the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On December 15, he was elevated again, and played special teams and offense against the Cincinnati Bengals. He signed a reserve/future contract with Tennessee on January 6, 2025.

On August 26, 2025, Odukoya was waived by the Titans as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 11 and waived three days later.

New England Patriots On October 16, 2025, Odukoya signed with the New England Patriots' practice squad.