Packers will sign TE/H-back Dominique Dafney, likely to practice squad

The Green Bay Packers suffered a significant blow last Monday night in their 30-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Packers rookie with the most significant role so far in 2020 has been H-back Josiah Deguara, the team’s third-round draft pick; unfortunately, Deguara suffered a torn ACL last week and appears headed to injured reserve.

The Packers have used John Lovett in Deguara’s role in recent weeks, as Deguara also dealt with a minor injury that kept him out of the team’s week 2 and 3 games, but with the H-back spot critical to Matt LaFleur’s offense, they evidently are looking to have another body in the organization to ensure depth at that spot.

Enter Dominique Dafney, who was reportedly practicing with the Packers on Monday afternoon. This signifies that Dafney has signed with the Packers in some capacity, most likely to fill the team’s one open practice squad spot.

Dafney is an impressive athlete who finished his college football career at Indiana State, the same program that Robert Tonyan attended. There, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Dafney played wide receiver and wildcat quarterback, totaling 196 receiving yards, 439 rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns as a senior. Indiana State was the third college football program Dafney played for, having started at Iowa Western Community College before transferring to the University of Iowa for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In those two years with the Hawkeyes, Dafney caught one pass for 19 yards, returned one punt for 26 yards, and totaled eight tackles on special teams.

Dafney projects as an H-back, however, which is the position he played during a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts in training camp. Notably, Dafney’s athletic gifts are impressive for players at that position. He reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds at the Sycamores’ Pro Day and added excellent times of 4.19 in the short shuttle and 6.91 in the 3-cone drill. Those numbers give him RAS values of 8.15 (out of 10) at tight end and 9.62 at fullback.

While Dafney is unlikely to contribute immediately, he should provide some insurance behind Lovett, who becomes the Packers’ primary “F” tight end with Deguara out for the year.

Stay tuned this afternoon for confirmation about Dafney’s addition to the roster.