Did the Dolphins somehow land the second-best QB in 2022 draft?

The Miami Dolphins spent a seventh-round pick on Skylar Thompson in the 2022 NFL Draft, making him the eighth quarterback taken in that draft. Nine in total went off the board and the funniest part of the 2022 draft when it comes to quarterbacks is that the best signal-caller from that year's group of prospects ended up being Brock Purdy, who was the last pick in the draft.

Purdy helped lead the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie and then the Super Bowl during his second year. He's undoubtedly the best quarterback from the 2022 draft class but who would be the second-best signal-caller from the bunch?

A Dolphins fan on Reddit claimed that Thompson would be the one to receive that honor. The user, whose username on Reddit is Quickdrawken, posted a screenshot of all nine quarterbacks taken in the 2022 NFL Draft and titled his post "We really have the 2nd best QB from this draft".

The nine quarterbacks selected in the 2022 draft consists of Kenny Pickett (Round 1: Pick 20), Desmond Ridder (Round 3: Pick 74), Malik Willis (Round 3: Pick 86), Matt Corral (Round 3: Pick 94), Bailey Zappe (Round 4: Pick 137), Sam Howell (Round 5: Pick 144), Chris Oladokun (Round 7: Pick 241), Skylar Thompson (Round 7: Pick 247), and Brock Purdy (Round 7: Pick 262). That is a pretty underwhelming group of quarterbacks right there.

Where does Skylar Thompson rank in 2022 QB draft class?

Something to note right off the bat is that Thompson and Purdy are the only quarterbacks from this draft class who are still with the team that drafted them. Pickett was traded to the Eagles this offseason, Ridder was sent from Atlanta to Arizona (and then was promptly cut), Willis was just shipped off to Green Bay, and Zappe was cut from the Patriots ahead of the deadline.

As for the other names, Corral was on IR for his entire rookie year with the Panthers and was cut the next year. Howell started for the Commanders during his second season but was sacked a whopping 65 times and was sent to Seattle in the offseason. Oladokun didn't even make the Steelers' initial roster in 2022 and has been on the Chiefs' practice squad since then.

When looking at Thompson's numbers when compared with Zappe and Howell, it'd be tough to make a realistic case that he's truly the second-best signal-caller in the 2022 draft. That being said, he's been someone the Dolphins coaching staff values and they clearly believe in him to be up for the task if something happens to Tua Tagovailoa, as they cut Mike White.

While Thompson is one of only two quarterbacks from this draft class to still be with his original team, that doesn't necessarily make him the second-best option from the 2022 prospects. Pickett had a lot more expectations being a first-round pick while Zappe and Howell looked fine when on the field. Zappe was on an awful team and Howell's offensive line was downright laughable so the stats those guys put up weren't bad when considering that.

Thompson had fewer expectations as a seventh-round pick but had a better team surrounding him. He hasn't been sensational by any means but as noted above, the coaching staff still see him as the best option to backup Tagovailoa in 2024.

More Dolphins news and analysis