Pride of Detroit
Sione Vaki was one of the more interesting draft picks from the Detroit Lions’ 2024 class. Mostly a safety at Utah, Lions general manager Brad Holmes saw a ton of potential in Vaki’s offensive skill set when he had to fill in as an emergency running back in college. Thinking he could turn those 42 college rushing attempts into a potential full-time role in the NFL, Holmes jumped up a round in the draft to select Vaki in the fourth round.
But through two seasons, Vaki’s growth as a running back has been severely stunted. Could 2026 be the year Vaki starts to put it together? Does his contributions on special teams make the pick worth it anyways? Let’s take a closer look in our latest player profile series in our 2026 Lions season preview.
Previous season previews: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, OT Penei Sewell
Expectations heading into 2025
With Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery coming off career years, there wasn’t a ton of opportunity waiting for Vaki on offense in 2025. That said, the coaching staff was still very optimistic he could warrant some situational work if he continues his development.
“We feel like just athletically, size-wise, explosiveness, power, there’s versatility in what he could do,” Campbell said last training camp. “He might be able to play multiple roles, multiple positions.”
Unfortunately, Vaki missed the entire spring program last year, and missed much of training camp with a hamstring injury that lingered for months. He was just getting healthy to start the season, but the time missed to develop his offensive skills sapped some expectations for 2025.
Actual Role in 2025
11 games (0 starts) — 1 snap on offense, 187 snaps on special teams
PFF offense grade: N/A
PFF special teams grade: 75.4 (82nd out of 371 players with at least 150 snaps)
Stats: 1 rush, 4 yards — 10 special teams tackles
Unfortunately, Vaki suffered a setback in his hamstring recovery and also dealt with a groin injury. Those two caused him to miss six of the first seven games of the season.
When he returned, he basically had no offensive role, but was heavily featured on special teams. He was part of the return team on kickoffs until he suffered a broken thumb midway through the season.
Still, Vaki stayed on the field for 11 games last year and averaged a very healthy 17 special teams snaps per game. In that aspect of his game, he remains in very, very high regard.
“Vaki has really had a great year for us,” special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said in January. “And I mean he’s just a unique athlete. Explosive, powerful, strong, he’s an offender technically. I know he played both in college but his ability to make tackles and play in coverage is exceptional for that position of running back. And so, he’s been a great player for us this season. I think he’s had a really good year.”
Outlook for 2026
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