Last season, the Miami Dolphins were without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for five games due to injury which forced them to start Jacoby Brissett.
Miami went 2-3 in those games, but one of those wins came against the Baltimore Ravens when Tagovailoa played the second half, leading to 16 of the team’s 22 points that day.
The Dolphins’ front office and new coaching staff knew that they needed to upgrade at backup this offseason, so they brought in Teddy Bridgewater and Chris Streveler to be the second and third strings respectively. However, during the 2022 NFL draft, Miami used their seventh-round pick on quarterback Skylar Thompson out of Kansas State.
Since then, Thompson has already beaten out Streveler, giving him the third spot on the depth chart for now.
While there’s not a ton of opportunity for the public to see what’s going on at OTAs and minicamps, a lot is put into the word of the experts who have gotten to see him before he entered the NFL.
This week, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy spoke to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and explained what the Dolphins got in Thompson.
“We liked him. Going back a couple years, we were watching him quite a bit. Met him at the Manning camp. Really liked him. I thought his age [24] would force him to go undrafted. Good athlete, gritty kid, he plays the position well. He processes well, makes good decisions. It has been a durability thing and an age thing with him.
“We had good grades on Skylar the last couple years. You’re drafting a guy you anticipate competing for in undrafted free agency, so by picking him in the seventh round [you avoid needing to compete with other teams to sign him]. He is a good quarterback.”
It’s unclear whether or not head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier want to enter the 2022 NFL season with two or three quarterbacks on the active roster. Either way, Thompson has a good shot to stick around on the 53-man or on the practice squad.
If, over the next few seasons, he can develop into a competent backup that the team has confidence in, the pick will be considered a definite success. However, fans will hope he never sees the field because that means their starters are healthy and playing well.
