The Miami Dolphins used their final draft pick of the 2022 NFL draft (No. 247 overall) to select Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson, bringing him into a room that already has Tua Tagovailoa, Teddy Bridgewater and Chris Streveler.
Quarterbacks taken in the seventh round are far from guaranteed to make the final roster. In the last 10 drafts, just over half of the 16 seventh-round quarterbacks that were drafted made the team’s 53-man roster to start the season, and even less lasted their full rookie year with the team that drafted them.
However, the Dolphins believe that Thompson has some skills to build on to potentially get something out of him in the future. They’re not the only ones that think that.
For a piece for ESPN+ (subscription required), ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg spoke with college coaches regarding some of the selections in this year’s draft, and one of them backed the Dolphins taking Thompson.
“He’s more prototypical, size-wise,” a Group of 5 defensive coordinator said. “If he wouldn’t have gotten hurt so much, he would have been a higher pick, because he kind of fit all the stuff they’re looking for.”
Thompson dealt with both ankle and knee injuries that cost him time in 2021, and a shoulder injury in October 2020 cost the quarterback the rest of that season.
Heading into a battle with Streveler for that third spot, either on the active roster or the practice squad, Thompson will have to show that there’s potential for him to grow with time in Miami’s system.
