Skylar Thompson looks good in Dolphins debut. But does he look too good? | Habib

TAMPA — This is on you, Chris Grier.

As general manager of the Dolphins, Grier pulled the trigger with his final pick in this year’s draft, taking Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson.

Didn’t need Thompson. Didn’t need a quarterback.

Also didn’t need a problem, which is what Thompson presented to Grier and the Dolphins with his debut performance in Saturday night's 26-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Thompson looked good.

Too good, perhaps.

Which is why, each time Thompson waved his arms to direct receivers exactly where he wanted them to line up, each time he dropped back to pass with the grace of a veteran, and each time he delivered the ball where it needed to go, you couldn’t help but think: Reid Sinnett.

Sinnett, you’ll recall, is the quarterback who looked good in Dolphins training camp a year ago, including a 343-yard preseason game. Then the Dolphins got a little too cute, trying to sneak Sinnett through waivers and onto the practice squad when they felt a need to activate receiver Isaiah Ford and backup center Cameron Tom. That explains why Sinnett is performing well in Eagles green now.

Skylar Thompson throws for 218, 106.0 rating

This brings us to Thompson, who finished 20-of-28 for 218 yards, one touchdown and a 106.0 passer rating. He’s not going to unseat Tua Tagovailoa, nor will he supplant Teddy Bridgewater as the backup. But if he continues looking the way he has in training camp and now in preseason, he could cost Miami a spot on the 53-man roster.

Unless the Dolphins want to risk losing a quarterback prospect two years in a row, that is.

It’s an inconvenient truth, but one the Dolphins will gladly accept after seeing the performance Thompson put on.

This is as good a place as any for a disclaimer. These teams let it be known before kickoff that 50 presumed regulars were unlikely to play. That included 10 of Tampa Bay’s expected starters on defense. It also meant Thompson wasn’t throwing to guys named Tyreek or Jaylen but, rather, Trent Sherfield and Lynn Bowden.

It’s easy to get carried away by these pretend games, in other words, even as your eyes kept telling you this 25-year-old rookie didn’t look like a kid wearing an NFL uniform for the first time. If that's how you felt, you weren't alone.

"You know, it's funny," coach Mike McDaniel said. "I have to check myself when certain things will happen during a game or practice, where I'll feel myself getting impatient with him. Because I've completely forgotten that he's his rookie, you know, but he is a rookie."

Maybe there are times McDaniel forgets that fact because there are times Thompson shoves it aside, too. He has no inclination to use the "R" beside his name as an excuse.

As well as Thompson played, he came out of Saturday's game bemoaning that "there's a handful of plays that are on my mind right now." No, they weren't plays he made. They were plays that "stumped me a little bit." You get the feeling he'll be analyzing them Sunday afternoon on tape — provided, of course, he wasn't doing it on the midnight flight home.

"You know, there's always room for improvement," Thompson said. "There's always room for growth."

McDaniel told him that amid the first couple of series. He saw Thompson was taking too long in the huddle, told him to get a move on, and the problem no longer was a problem.

Wasted no time hitting receivers on scoring drives

The Bucs were kind enough to hand Thompson excellent field position for his first series, on the Tampa Bay 38. Right away, Thompson faked a pitch, rolled out and hit Mike Gesicki on the run for 12 yards.

Faced with a third-and-6, he hit Cedrick Wilson for 11 to keep the drive alive. Then, it stalled as the pocket collapsed on him and he was sacked, but at least it produced a field goal.

Thompson had gone four-for-four with a 99.0 rating.

Thompson was back running his play-fakes with poise on his next possession, including a 15-yard throw to Wilson, although that drive quickly stalled.

Then things really got interesting.

Thompson connected with Sherfield for a 33-yard gain and Tanner Conner for 13 and 7, performing while his supporting cast wasn’t. Thompson drove Miami 40 yards for another field goal even though the Dolphins’ running attack had managed a total of minus-2 yards. His offensive line, without Terron Armstead and Connor Williams, conceded two sacks.

The next time the Bucs afforded Thompson excellent field position, he made them pay with your standard six-second touchdown drive. That’s how long it took to hit a back-pedaling Bowden for a 22-yard score. The pass wobbled, but Bowden had befuddled rookie Zyon McCollum such that it didn’t matter.

Thompson’s line had ballooned to 10-of-12 for 122 yards and a 136.8 rating. It was only getting better because he opened the second half with a 29-yard lob to a wide-open Bowden. When guys get open deep, he makes sure the football finds them.

"I try not to make the moment too big," Thompson said. "You know, at the end of the day, it's football. It's a game that I've been playing for a very long time."

He wasn’t perfect. Thompson got away with a fourth-quarter throwaway that appeared to be intercepted by Don Gardner. TV cameras didn’t capture a definitive angle to show Gardner came down with the ball in bounds, which was the only salvation for Thompson’s error.

The twist here is that Thompson, the rookie, was debuting at 25 years, 70 days old, while Tagovailoa, the third-year veteran, is only 24 years, 164 days old.

Thompson played with a knee injury last season, completing 69.5% but attempting only 233 passes for 2,113 yards, 12 TDs and four interceptions. Nothing, in other words, to make dozens of other Division I quarterbacks envious.

Thompson wouldn’t be the first late bloomer at his position. Question is, if he is a late bloomer, can the Dolphins risk a repeat of last season?

Hal Habib covers the Dolphins for The Post. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Thompson sharp in debut, which could force decision for Dolphins