Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a first-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals back in 2008. The No. 16 overall pick from Tennessee State spent his first three seasons with the Cardinals before he would go on to play 12 NFL seasons for six teams, including finishing his career in Washington in 2019.
Rodgers-Cromartie had an excellent career, earning one second-team All-Pro and two trips to the Pro Bowl. He’d finish his NFL career with 30 interceptions and seven touchdowns.
During Rodgers-Cromartie’s time in Arizona, he was teammates with Washington Commanders team president Jason Wright. Wright’s final two NFL seasons came with the Cardinals from 2009-10 before he retired. In 2020, the Commanders hired Wright as team president.
In a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Wright discussed Washington’s first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
In fact, Wright said Forbes reminded him of Rodgers-Cromartie.
“I played with a guy, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie when I was with the Cardinals,” Wright said. “DRC is it. He was incredibly explosive; he could go up and get the ball, he had a natural knack for tracking the ball, he was slight in the frame, but he would stick his head in there when he needed to, and I would argue Emmanuel is more willing to do that much more than DRC was. And so we feel really good about the pick.”
Forbes, like Rodgers-Cromartie, was also selected No. 16 overall.
“Every team has there unique way of looking at players and you gotta trust your staff..
Emmanuel Forbes has big play ability and he was our guy” ~ @whoisjwright #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/RO32uCpkVu
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 28, 2023