‘That’s what you want.’ Ahead of first start since 2022, Dolphins’ Skylar Thompson is ready

Skylar Thompson didn’t play a single down in 2023.

After starting three games as a rookie in 2022, Thompson didn’t touch the field last year. But he was patient. Attentive. Maturing.

“I thought that was very helpful for me being able to take a step back from the offense,” Thompson said Wednesday of the 2023 season, “obviously I’m still in it but just seeing it from a different perspective and being able to digest it and understand the why behind the what” really helped him “grow and develop.”

Thompson will make his first start since 2022 on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. And while it has been more than a year since he had any meaningful snaps, the team has raved that the third-year quarterback out of Kansas State is ready.

“Y’all have seen Skylar play before,” Jaylen Waddle said Monday. “He’s real confident. We’re confident in his ability. He plays with a lot of swag out there, so it’s going to be fun. I’m excited.”

“The confidence in Skylar is real,” coach Mike McDaniel added Monday. “He has run our plays in walk through probably more than any one on our team” for the past year.

Sunday’s matchup against the Seahawks, however, comes with its own host of challenges. With Lumen Field consistently ranked among the loudest NFL stadiums in the country, Seattle is already one of the most difficult places to play.

“It gets as loud as the team can make it,” said former Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks who joined the Dolphins in the 2024 offseason. “So if we’re stopping them, it won’t be that loud. If we don’t, it will be pretty loud. I think the way the stadium is designed to keep the sound in or whatever, so that helps too.”

Then comes the issue of the Seahawks’ defense. Through two weeks, Seattle ranks sixth in total defense, allowing a total of 270.5 yards per game. The unit is also tied for second in passing defense (128.5 yards per game), thanks to a trio of Pro Bowl defensive backs in Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen and Julian Love.

“It’s going to be a hostile environment, but it’s going to be a special opportunity for us to go and attack that,” Thompson said, later adding that Lumen Field is “a special place to play and the 12th Man is real.”

Thompson’s stats as a starter, however, don’t necessarily jump off the page. In his three starts, one of which happened in the playoffs, he has completed roughly 45% of his passes for 461 yards and a single touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions over the span.

Luckily, Thompson has some of the league’s best offensive weapons in Waddle, Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane. Though Hill and Waddle had a disappointing Week 2, they still remain a top five receiver duo while Achane ranks fifth in all-purpose yards in 2024. Waddle acknowledged that there’s a bit a more pressure on the offensive playmakers with Thompson at the helm.

“Everybody has got to step up from the run game to protections, especially the receivers, just to make his job a little easier,” the wide receiver said. “It’s going to be kind of flying bullets, but Skylar’s got a lot of ball, man.”

With Tua Tagovailoa officially on injured reserve due to a concussion, Thompson will likely be the starter until Tagovailoa is eligible to return in Week 8. The Dolphins did sign 2022 Pro Bowler Tyler “Snoop” Huntley on Monday.

Even with the signing of Huntley, McDaniel maintained his commitment to Thompson.

“He was replacing the league MVP,” McDaniel said of Huntley on Monday, “and you could tell from far away that he was a guy that the team absolutely believed he could lead them to victory. I think that’s a very huge tangible thing for a non-QB1.”

Added McDaniel: “This was not a move in any way shape or form is not any direct reflection as Skylar as Tua’s backup. This was more for the depth. I do think that it helps the dynamics of the room and to give another guy with starting history to this team.”

Although much has changed since the last time Thompson started, arguably the most important difference is his – and you’ve probably heard this before with another Dolphins signal caller – comfortability. The McDaniel offensive playbook is notoriously complicated, something that likely played into Thompson’s lackluster performance as a rookie.

“It’s a lot different from how I feel now,” Thompson said. “I felt like my rookie year, I was really doing things exactly by the book and viewing everything as I was seeing it in the playbook — with drops, footwork, everything– it was all new to me. I studied it so much that I felt like I knew it so well that sometimes it kind of slowed me down a little bit even. That’s just another progression of being in your third year and having this opportunity again, I feel like I have a really good understanding of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

And while Tagovailoa’s injury has likely dampened the Dolphins’ sky high expectations, Thompson too can prove just how much he’s grown come Sunday if he pulls off a win in Seattle.

“I’m super excited for that,” Thompson said. “For me, that’s what you want. That’s why football is such a great game: having a road opportunity with the guys and you get to go in there and go to battle with them in that environment.”