Former NFL star and current coach Osi Umenyiora told ESPN that while in the past, he and his networks had to scout relentlessly for talent in Africa, the success of its recent homegrown NFL stars has led prospects to approach him and scouts directly.

The 2025 NFL season saw unprecedented success in the regular season from homegrown African talent - and then, in April 2026, Nigeria's Uar Bernard was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles without playing a snap of competitive football. Bernard was the first African player drafted directly from the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) program.

Previously, in September 2025, CJ Okoye had become the first IPP product directly from Africa to play a regular season game. He has since moved from the Baltimore Ravens to the New York Giants.

"I would say so," NFL ambassador and former New York Giants fan favourite Umenyiora told ESPN when asked if scouting networks had significantly deepened in recent years in Africa.

"On top of that, word is out there now. You know the old saying: 'If you build it, they will come.' Well, we built it and they're coming now.

"The things that we used to have to do before, we don't necessarily have to do now, because people are reaching out. They're showing us a lot of their videos. They're showing us a lot of stuff.

"We have people who are interested in the program - a lot of people who aren't even scouts, but they're like: 'Look at this guy, look at this guy, look at this guy.' You know how it is in Africa, so that's how we're getting down right now."

	Nigeria's Uar Bernard was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles without ever playing a snap of competitive American football.

Umenyiora encouraged talented players to reach out to him directly via Instagram, adding: "I'll take a look without a shadow of a doubt.

"If you don't hear back from me, you already know what that means, but I think everybody should at least make the effort to reach out and see what their abilities are and if they have what it takes."

He credited Mark Dulgerian for his scouting work for the NFL, which led to the unearthing of talents such as Kenya's Joshua Weru - who has been retained on the Eagles practice squad alongside Bernard.

Weru picked up a sack in his second ever game of organized football in preseason as the Eagles lost 24-21 to the New England Patriots.

Before the sack, Umenyiora predicted that the Eagles would take a long-term approach to developing Weru - supported by their subsequent decision not to put him and Bernard in the active regular season roster from the get-go.

"I first got the videos [of Weru] when he got to the IPP Program, so that's when I first actually understood. I had heard about the kid, but I hadn't seen his training or any of that until he got to the IPP," Umenyiora said.

"To be fair, he is an explosive, fluid athlete. The numbers he put up to me were extremely impressive... I think if they mould this guy and train him properly, he is going to be a really good football player.

"It's not going to come overnight, but then, the Philadelphia Eagles are known for developing football players - people who are going to take a while to develop. They're known for that, so I'm happy he went there."

Three years ago, Okoye had notched a sack in preseason for the Los Angeles Chargers against the Los Angeles Rams. Although it took some time to fully become a mainstay in the league, he is now an established NFL player with the Giants.

Okoye and fellow homegrown IPP products such as Nigeria's Chukwuebuka Godrick (Miami Dolphins) give the likes of Bernard, Weru and other homegrown African stars tangible proof that it can be done.