New Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan may just be creating a South Florida high school football all-star team in his first year handling the roster.
Within minutes Thursday afternoon, the Dolphins reached contract agreements with wide receiver Tutu Atwell and cornerback Marco Wilson, according to league sources.
Atwell once starred as a high school quarterback for Miami Northwestern, and Wilson played in high school for American Heritage in Plantation. Those moves come after Sullivan and the Dolphins landed defensive end and former Miami Columbus High standout Josh Uche on Wednesday, with him signing his deal Thursday.
Atwell, 26, an electric speedster at 5 feet 9, 165 pounds, has spent his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, who took him in the second round of the 2021 draft. Over the past four seasons, he has 105 receptions for 1,535 yards and five touchdowns.
He went for 483 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 while hitting a career-high 562 receiving yards in 2024 before a hamstring injury curtailed his production last season.
In high school in Miami, Atwell returned storied Northwestern High back to a state championship as a senior in 2017. He transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver in college at Louisville and had a breakout sophomore season in 2019 with 1,276 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Atwell also has kick and punt return experience, but he hasn’t done it since his rookie NFL season in 2021.
Atwell joins a Dolphins wide receiving corps that returns the likes of Jaylen Waddle, Malik Washington, Theo Wease and Tahj Washington. There’s a lot of speed on the unit, but Wease is the only one who provides size.
Wilson, 27, is from Fort Lauderdale and finished his high school career winning a state championship at American Heritage after bouncing back from a torn ACL as a junior. He was part of an ultra-talented secondary that also consisted of future NFL star cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Tyson Campbell.
Wilson then went to the University of Florida and was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2021.
He started 37 games for the Cardinals in his first three NFL seasons, coming down with three interceptions in 2022 and returning one for a touchdown that season. Waived late in the 2023 season, he was picked up by the New England Patriots, split time between the Patriots and Bengals in 2024 and was back in Cincinnati last season.
He hasn’t returned to starting status at any of his destinations after Arizona. For his career, he has allowed a passer rating of 109.4 when targeted.
He joins a significant cornerback competition, as the Dolphins struck deals with a slew of defensive backs Wednesday.
Wilson is the younger brother of Quincy Wilson, who was a second-round pick of the Colts in 2017 and was in Miami for training camp in 2022 but didn’t make the roster.