Opportunity knocks
Dafney watched door at bar before reaching NFL
GREEN BAY - Mere months before he grabbed a touchdown pass from Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers under the lights at Chicago's Soldier Field, tight end Dominique Dafney grabbed IDs as a bouncer at 300 Craft & Rooftop, a bar in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dafney's routine had become monotonous — wake up, lift weights, go home, eat, wait for a life-changing phone call from an NFL team looking to give him a chance to live out his dream of playing professional football.
So, he took the bouncer gig to shake up the daily grind. But it didn't last long. The Packers called him in mid-October and offered him a practice squad spot.
NFL wild-card weekend
The Rams knocked off the Seahawks in the NFC playoffs and the Bills survived against the Colts in an AFC game Saturday;
“I just texted in our group message, ‘Hey, I’m leaving,’” Dafney said. “‘’Cause the Packers called me.’ And (my boss) was like, ‘Nope, I get it. You don’t have to come to work tonight.’ I’m like, ‘Yep, I probably shouldn’t.’ And then I was gone the next day.”
The stint at 300 was just another twist in the path that Dafney took to the NFL. That path was initially headed in the direction toward playing NCAA Division I basketball, but then it took a whiplash-inducing turn toward collegiate football, through junior college, two Division I programs, a canceled pro day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a training camp tryout with the Indianapolis Colts and a subsequent release.
Nevertheless, he made it to Green Bay.
“One of the (things) I was joking with him about is, I was like, we’re gonna write a book about your testimony because boy, do you have one,” Lonnie Dafney, Dominique’s mother, laughed.
“He was like, no, it’s gonna be a Disney film.”
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If Dafney’s life is a Disney movie, then it starts out like “The Lion King.” Simba was born to succeed his father Mufasa as the King of the Pride Lands. Dafney was born to rule the court, the field, whichever arena he chose to display his athletic abilities.
“For him, ’cause he’s a natural athlete, his nickname is Baby Six Pack,” Lonnie said. “He came out as a very stocky, strong baby.”
From football to basketball, baseball to soccer, Dafney dabbled in a bit of everything growing up. His father, Darrin, played Division I basketball at UCLA and Drake. Dafney’s older brother, DJ, took after their father and played basketball at Simpson College.
But Dafney was inspired to pursue football by his late uncle Bernard, who spent six seasons in the NFL playing for the Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens as an offensive lineman.
“He’s a guy that introduced me to football like for real,”
Dafney said of his uncle, who died of a heart attack in 2006.
Up until his junior year, Dafney primarily focused on participating in AAU basketball and baseball while playing for the Valley High School football team first as a running back and later as a wide receiver. But a decision to carry on the legacy of “Uncle Nard” the summer going into his senior year led him to abandon interest from Division I basketball programs and focus on pursuing collegiate football.
That year, the Dafney family hightailed it to football camps to get eyeballs on their youngest son late in the recruiting cycle. Despite earning all-district first-team honors as a junior, Dafney garnered limited interest. Most programs had given out their scholarships and had nothing to offer except walk-on spots.
Dafney chose to attend Iowa Western Community College after graduation with the intention of getting rerecruited the following year. Although Dafney mostly played special teams at Iowa Western, his performance was enough to warrant a spot at the University of Iowa. But again, no scholarship — Dafney would play all three years as a walk-on.
“He was frustrated,” Lonnie said. “Especially being that they redshirted him, gave him lots of promises that didn’t get fulfilled and so we’d been, as an encouragement, just said you believe in yourself, we believe in you. Just keep going.”
When Dafney had one year of eligibility left after graduating from Iowa, he considered playing at Indiana State, where former Iowa quarterback Ryan Boyle transferred in 2018. During Dafney’s visit to Terre Haute, Indiana, in the spring of 2019, Sycamores head coach Curt Mallory and offensive coordinator Michael Switzer explained to Dafney exactly how they envisioned using him in their offense.
“I thought he was a really serious guy,” Switzer said. “He was about his business and I think that he took this opportunity very seriously knowing that he had the experience at Iowa and being able to be a contributor on special teams, but he wanted more. And he made that clear to us.”
Although he missed spring ball, Dafney took to the offense quickly when he joined the team that summer. Immediately, Dafney earned a role on offense for the first time since high school. But when Boyle tore his ACL just a third of the way through the season, Switzer was forced to get creative with the offensive game plan. To invigorate the offense, Switzer suggested to Mallory that the Sycamores implement a wildcat package with Dafney taking the snap.
“When you saw the ball in his hands and what he did after the catch, that’s when the ideas start to spark in saying maybe this guy needs to carry the football,” Switzer said.
Mallory wasn’t too keen on the idea.
“Well, my first response was ‘no,’” Mallory said. “That’s how smart of a coach I am.”
When the Sycamores’ offense continued to struggle, Mallory decided to give Dafney a shot at the helm of the wildcat package with four games left in the season. The Sycamores had instant success — Dafney played in wildcat goal-line packages against Southern Illinois and scored two touchdowns. In their final game of the 2019 season against Missouri State, Dafney rushed for 244 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 51-24 romp.
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After the season, Dafney was eager to compete at the Indiana State pro day in front of NFL brass. But as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered pro days across the country, Lonnie called Valley High School and requested permission to use their facility where Dominique could shoot a pro day tape to send to NFL teams. Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi, Dafney’s former high school teammate, helped with the receiver drills.
“So myself, his trainer, my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew and I, we were like, let’s set up every station and he ran through and we all videotaped and measured and did all that we needed to do to do a pro day video,” Lonnie said.
Dafney’s tape drew interest from NFL teams, but when draft weekend arrived, he went undrafted and unsigned. The Colts showed interest during the draft and told Dafney they would bring him in for a workout once COVID-19 protocols allowed it. On Aug. 26, the Colts signed Dafney as a tight end. Two weeks later, they waived him during final roster cuts.
The interest from NFL teams, however, continued. First, Dafney visited the New England Patriots, then the Packers for workouts. Finally, he received a call from the Packers granting him a practice squad spot and he officially signed with the team Oct. 12.
“I cried my eyes out,” Lonnie said. “Out of joy and just proud of him for not giving up. Kept working and that somebody ... they see in him what we see in him, but also what he sees in himself.”
To earn playing time, Dafney first needed to impress coaches and teammates at practice. Early on, Dafney’s versatility and focus flashed on scout team.
“He was a fullback, he was a wide receiver, he was an in-line tight end, doing so many things, and he was doing really well against a very good defense, our defense,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said.
Success in practice translated to playing time. When head coach Matt LaFleur needed help replacing the litany of injured H-backs, including Josiah Deguara, John Lovett and Jace Sternberger, he elevated Dafney from the practice squad to the active roster before the Packers’ Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The following week, Dafney was signed to the 53-man roster. With each passing game, his responsibilities multiplied from special teams to blocking on offense to finally lining up as a receiver. In Week 16 against the Titans, Dafney caught his first pass. A week later against the Bears, he caught his first touchdown on his second reception.
“I was trying so hard not to drop the ball ’cause it was like obviously if I dropped it, it’s like I’m gonna be very disappointed,” Dafney said. “So my feet kind of went dead and I was just focusing so hard on the ball and that’s kind of why I fell even though there was nobody there. Then I get up and I like look over and I’m like, yeah, I’m in the end zone.”
At each stop in his football career, all Dafney needed was an opportunity. He found one at Indiana State and made the most of it. He found another with the Packers.
The hypothetical treatment for Dafney’s Disney movie has all of the elements of a compelling story arc worthy of the silver screen. But it’s still being written.