Miami Dolphins Add Northwestern WR Following NFL Draft
In this story:
Northwestern may not have had any selections during the 2025 NFL Draft, but star wideout A.J. Henning found a home quickly after.
Following the completion of the seventh round, Henning's agency, Priority Sports, announced in a social media post that the speedy wide receiver had agreed to a contract with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.
Congrats to @AJHenning3 on agreeing to a deal with the @MiamiDolphins ! pic.twitter.com/MxpKfuYHFi
— Priority Sports (@PrioritySports) April 26, 2025
In two seasons at Northwestern, Henning had 136 touches for 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns, mostly through the air. Henning set career highs in receptions (59) and yards (603) in 2024 and caught four touchdowns. The receiver and return specialist began his career at Michigan, where he spent three years.
With the Wolverines, Henning was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team in 2021 and All-Big Ten Second Team in 2022, both as a returner.
Henning has 4.40 40-yard-dash speed and could be used by Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel in many similar ways to eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The 23-year-old Henning (5-foot-10, 192 pounds) is nearly identical in size to Hill (5-foot-10, 191 pounds) and made his name in college as a return man.
The wideout will join former Northwestern receiver and current Dolphin Malik Washington in South Beach. Washington played for the Wildcats for four seasons before transferring to Virginia for a graduate season, where he led the FBS with 110 catches and ranked fourth with 1,426 receiving yards. That was enough for the Dolphins to draft Washington in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft at the No. 184 overall pick.
Henning was the first Northwestern Wildcat of the 2025 undrafted free agent class to announce a contract with an NFL team.
Read More Northwestern Wildcats Coverage
Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
Follow gjdorsey7