Trattou was born in Maywood, New Jersey. He lived in Maywood, Hawthorne and Franklin Lakes, New Jersey and attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, where he was named all-state during both his junior and senior years. He collected 65 tackles, eight sacks and an interception as a sophomore. He helped lead Don Bosco to the state final his junior year by recording 96 tackles and totaling 11 sacks. As a senior playing for the Don Bosco Ironmen high school football team, he tallied 82 tackles and 17 sacks, and helped lead Don Bosco to a perfect 12–0 record and its first state title since 2003. He was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American and was also honored at the High School Heisman ceremony. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Trattou was rated No. 4 among New Jersey’s Top 30 prospects. He was rated fourth among defensive ends by Scout.com. He was also selected to be on the ESPN 150 list. He chose Florida over Notre Dame and committed on January 25, 2007. He also had scholarship offers from Ohio State, Boston College and Penn State, among others.
College career
Trattou accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2007 to 2010. He played in 52 games at Florida, including 31 starts. For his career, he amassed 121 tackles, 26.0 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and three pass deflections. During his sophomore season, the Gators won a Southeastern Conference championship and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. As a senior team captain in 2010, he memorably returned an interception thirty-five yards for a touchdown, and was the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing "the senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." In his four seasons as a Gator, he played in fifty-two games, and started thirty-one of them, including all thirteen games during his senior year.
Professional career
Pre-draft
New York Giants
The New York Giants signed Trattou as an undrafted free agent in, and he appeared in six regular season games during his rookie season. He was waived/injured on August 16, 2012, and subsequently reverted to injured reserve on August 18.
On October 9, 2013, Trattou was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. On September 20, 2015, Trattou got his first career interception against the Detroit Lions during a Vikings 26-16 victory. On December 14, 2013, Trattou was re-signed by the Minnesota Vikings.
