Why Detroit Lions view do-it-all Sione Vaki as RB: 'He looked so natural'
Sione Vaki had no idea what was coming.
Vaki's Utah team was 4-1 and ranked nationally but riddled with injuries last October when the team's starting safety showed up at the football building only to have a graduate assistant pull him aside and tell him he'd be taking part in an offensive period that day at practice.
Vaki made his college debut on offense a few days later, carrying 15 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns as a running back and wildcat quarterback in a 34-14 win over Cal, and had five catches for 149 yards receiving and two touchdowns while pulling double duty on defense the following week in a 34-32 win at USC.
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The Detroit Lions traded up to take Vaki in the fourth round of Sunday's NFL draft, dealing fifth- and sixth-round choices plus a 2025 fourth-rounder for pick No. 132 and a later sixth-round choice they used on Boston College guard Christian Mahogany.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after the draft that while Vaki has the ability to play safety and was one of the best special teams players in the draft, they drafted him as a running back.
"He looked so natural as a runner and I was like, 'Wait, where did these backyard instincts come from, of him just running the ball and making these plays?' " Holmes said. "And then not only has he got these instincts that are just very natural that we thought, 'He’s not even majoring in it.' Like, he just did that just 'cause it kind of got shorthanded. He was like, 'Oh, you need help at running back, oh, I’ll help out.' And then he starts making these plays, running the ball and in the passing game."
Vaki worked out at running back, receiver and safety and did special teams drills at Utah pro day, but said his draft process was "nerve-wracking" because every team saw him so differently.
"There was definitely a lot of chatter on both sides of the ball," said Vaki, who met with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery on his pre-draft visit to Detroit. "I honestly didn’t know, but now there’s only one team that matters right now and it’s Detroit, and I’m going to play wherever they need me to play."
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Holmes said Vaki projects as a core special teams player who can contribute on both kick and punt cover and returns, and Vaki said his inexperience at both running back and safety makes him one of the higher-upside players in the draft.
Vaki played just two seasons of college football after originally signing with Utah in 2019.
He spent two years on a Mormon mission in Tonga, made five starts and played in 14 games on defense and special teams in 2022 and played all over the field last year when he finished with 42 carries for 317 yards, 11 catches for 203 yards, two sacks, 51 tackles and one interception.
"He’s a football player that plays football like how we like it," Holmes said.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions view Sione Vaki as RB, core special teams player
