# Tashard Choice: Lions running back Sione Vaki ‘still like putty’ heading into Year 2
Full article at Link.
=
“Having a chance to have him in OTAs, his quickness, his suddenness (stood out). He works extremely hard,” said Choice, who was hired in February after spending the previous three seasons at Texas. “I know how well he’s done this last year on (special) teams, talking to (coordinator Dave) Fipp a lot and having a chance to be with the returners and seeing him move and his movement and watching tape. The son of a gun can play. To me, I think he’s still like putty, where you can form him to be the player you want.”
Vaki’s role in the offense in 2025 is still to be determined, though he flashed a little bit of what he’s capable of during last year’s preseason. He tallied more than 100 yards from scrimmage over two games, including 60 yards on four catches in an exhibition win over the Kansas City Chiefs. His receptions against the Chiefs all came on one drive right before halftime, as he helped the Lions dink and dunk their way down the field to give kicker Jake Bates a chance at a 23-yard field goal. The natural skills as a ball carrier that Holmes saw in the draft process were evident.
Gibbs and Montgomery are virtually locked in as the top two at running back, but the next logical step in Vaki’s development would be for him to push Reynolds as the team’s third option at the position. Reynolds had 31 rushing attempts last season, with 19 of those carries occurring while Montgomery was sidelined with an MCL injury. He filled in admirably, and leaping him on the depth chart is no given.
