The Miami Dolphins continue to spin their wheels and twiddle their thumbs as they wait for Tua Tagovailoa to return, but they are still being exposed for their inability to draft properly.
General manager Chris Grier is regularly heralded for his bold trades to bring in big players, but when it comes to the draft, does he really “hit” on players? Consider that in 2020, he drafted Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, and Noah Igbinoghene in the first round. There are still questions and debates about Tua. Jackson is serviceable but not considered elite, and Igbinoghene was a flat-out bust.
Miami is known for its long list of bad drafts, and we can now add another one to the list: Seventh-round draft pick Skylar Thompson. No one expects a seventh-rounder to make a huge impact on an NFL team’s roster. While it happens more often than it used to, it is still rare to find a gem like Brock Purdy, whom the Dolphins passed on to draft Thompson.
Tyler Huntley is going to start against the Indianapolis Colts when the Dolphins return from their bye week. McDaniel has said that he is going to stick with him, given the jump he says from his first game to the second. Thompson is nearly 100% and will serve as the backup.
After three years of development in the McDaniel system, he loses his job to a guy who has been in it for three weeks.
It begs the question: Why was Thompson the backup plan entering the season? The Dolphins had to have known how things would’ve gone if they needed him to start, and it didn’t take long for them to give up on him. But it’s something they needed to fix in the offseason.
Did the Dolphins fail Thompson? Did they not develop him properly? Or was he never going to be anything more than an emergency third quarterback? It isn’t like Huntley is some great quarterback that Miami lucked into finding.
Thompson’s future with Miami has to come to an end after the 2024 season is over. He doesn’t need another year, and he doesn’t need more time. Thompson needs a change of scenery and a new team.