Vaki to Lions

[homer]

Pick 132

[Christian]

As a Lions fan, I’m thrilled…Excited to see how they use him, especially if they can find a way to rotate him into the offensive scheme.

[UteNamedOg]

Hopefully he’s Gibbs insurance and is kept on the roster as a backup and beneficiary of the new kickoff rules. He was announced as a running back but has a good chunk of film tackling slippery guys in the open field.

Picking up a few million each year for ten years as a core ST contributor is a great way to set your family up for life while also not spending the rest of your life checking in with physical therapists

[RedUte14]

i take back what i said.
i didn’t expect him to get drafted so high. let’s goooo!!

[Utecity]

Glad to see betting on himself is paying off, that’s way earlier than was projected by most

[Yergensen]

Interesting reports on Vaki coming out of Detroit. They see him as a RB. He met with their offensive coaches prior to draft.

[EagleMountainUte]

Didn’t they lose their safety? I see him starting on that side. Also he should stay on that side of the ball. Just overall better for a longer career. RB in the NFL is not the greatest position anymore.

[Rick]

Based on all the draft experts I listened to over the past week, they see Vaki as just an OK safety but a better than average prospect at RB. They especially like his film of catching passes out of the backfield, even though it was a limited amount of plays. I tend to agree. Whatever he ends up doing for the Lions, I hope he kills it!

[highlandute7]

When the pick was announced, they called him out as a RB, not a S.

“…the Detroit Lions select, Sione Vaki, RB, Utah.”

[Yergensen]

Press conference post draft, Lions coordinator talks Vaki at RB. However, I think it’s also evident he’ll be used on special teams. Question is whether they’ll use him a safety as well.

[The Miami Ute]

I don’t know fellas…if I was Vaki, I’d be more in, for a career, as a Safety. The RB position in the NFL has been completely devalued over the last two decades. RBs are eminently disposable, don’t get nowhere near the money as other value positions, and tend to have a very short life span in the NFL. As a Safety, Vaki could play into his 30s if things worked out well. As a RB, he might not even see a second NFL contract.

[Yergensen]

It’s interesting Miami, the devaluation has maybe in part led to a RB shortage (might be more due to carnage). Some supply and demand effects going on with the position right now.

Question will be whether this drives up RB salaries. Regardless of pay, RB will always have the shortest NFL career life. However, a 3rd down back can enjoy a longer career and this might be Vaki’s best fitting role (see Gio Bernard or Jerick McKinnon).

[Utah]

The problem with Vaki is he tested out so unathletic and stiff. That is killer for a safety. I was shocked at how stiff he tested out as.

I think RB is probably the better shot at him making an impact at the NFL level. I still think he should have come back to Utah and focused 100% at safety OR running back and would have been drafted higher.

But ST in Detroit and working into a backup RB could be a really, really good thing for him.

[Author]

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