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Dodji Dahoue, a 6-foot-9 offensive tackle for the NY Giants, is a unique UDFA who only started playing football in 2022. Originally from France, he grew up in Mali before moving to the U.S. for college in 2021.
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Dodji Dahoue | Courtesy of Walt Middleton/EMU Athletics
New York Giants UDFA offensive tackle Dodji Dahoue (pronounced DOH-jee DAH-way) certainly stands out in a crowd, and not just for his uncommon physique. He stands 6-foot-9 and roughly 300 pounds, which is even out of the ordinary in an NFL locker room, but Dahoueâs path to the NFL is even more unique.
Dahoue is very new to the game of football, only picking up the game in 2022. And in fact, Dahoue wasnât an athlete at all growing up.
Dahoue was born in France and his family moved to Washington DC a few months after he was born, where he lived for the first five years of his life. His family then moved to Mali in West Africa, where he grew up and lived until returning to the States to go to college in 2021. Dahoue started his collegiate career at Santa Rosa Junior College, a community college in Santa Rosa, California. There, Dahoue decided to give athletics a go, with basketball seeming a fit due to his height.
He quickly found out that basketball wasnât for him, but tried his hand at football. Dahoue was a tight end that year, red-shirting while he learned the rules of the game. He then transitioned to offensive tackle for his red-shirt freshman season, where he was named Freshman Of The Year in 2022. Dahoue was voted team captain as a sophomore and also earned all-conference honors in 2023. He transferred to Eastern Michigan University, where played in six games in 2024 before earning a starting job at offensive tackle in 2025. Unfortunately, Dahoueâs 2025 season was cut short by a torn ACL after just five games.
Oh, and Dahoueâs degree is in mechanical engineering. Thatâs hardly a ânormalâ path for an NFL athlete, in and of itself.
That the Giants would sign a young man who has only been playing the game for four years, and is currently rehabbing a torn ACL, makes Dahoue incredibly intriguing. We likely wonât see much from him right away, and he could qualify for the NFLâs International Pathway program. That would allow the Giants to keep Dahoue on their practice squad without sacrificing a spot, rehabbing his injury in-house and developing him at his own pace.
It would be an incredible boon â and find by the scouting department â if Dahoue is able to become a factor in the Giantsâ offensive line room, let alone the Giantsâ own .
Dodji Dahoue was born in France, lived in Washington DC for five years, and then grew up in Mali before returning to the U.S. for college.
Dahoue began his athletic career in basketball due to his height but switched to football in 2022, shortly after starting college.
Dahoue stands out due to his uncommon physique at 6-foot-9 and 300 pounds, as well as his unique journey to the NFL, having only recently taken up football.
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