Packers: Dominique Dafney made Jace Sternberger decision an easy choice

The Green Bay Packers were forced to make a tough decision on former third-round pick Jace Sternberger, who was waived earlier this week. Sternberger just completed his two-game suspension that was handed down by the NFL in the off-season.

The franchise had high hopes for the athletic tight end coming out of college. At one point Sternberger was even projected to be a starter as the Packers entered camp last season — before Robert Tonyan took the job and ran with it.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere he fell behind a former Des Moines, Iowa night club bouncer — Dominique Dafney.

Dafney earned snaps late last season, filling in admirably for the fallen Josiah Deguara as the team’s primary H-back. His versatility made him invaluable to Coach LaFleur and the Packers offense last last season. Dafney’s strong finish put him in a great position to earn a role with the franchise moving forward.

Dafney has proved to be a valuable chess piece in the Packers offense that loves to be multiple. He’s able to be deployed in myriad ways: H-back, in-line tight end, in the slot, and even split out wide on occasion. His ability to move around and do the dirty work is exactly why he went from playing 33% of snaps in week one, up to 45% snaps in week two.

Dafney’s ability to play essentially any of the roles in which the Packers deploy tight ends made the decision to move on from Sternberger any easy one. Coach LaFleur’s offense is predicated on the illusion of complexity, and a player who can be motioned around the offense to play any role makes it easy to execute in any situation. Should Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, or even Deguara need a breather, Dafney is an easy choice to fill in regardless of the role.

Dafney is going to be a fun player to follow throughout the season and watch grow in this offense. With so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the Packers due to their cap situation, Dafney could see his stock soar a year from now. Until then, he’ll continue to do the dirty work and be a Swiss-army knife for the Packers.