Preseason from a long time ago so take it with quite a few grains of salt, but IMO the vision looks pretty good here. Imperfect perhaps. Really good in some of those Giants snaps. There are definitely a couple reps against KC in which it’s not blocked up super well and he makes a false step. Like he’s trying to utilize a juke when there are four or five Chiefs about to gang tackle which is silly. You definitely want him just to get North-South there. Probably leaves two yards in the field in a couple of those instincts. I guess you could rope that in with vision. Or instincts or whatever. But to me that’s stuff that comes with rep.
When I think of poor vision I think of rookie Pacheco or Penn State Nic Singleton where there it’s blocked up, there is a hole, and he runs right up the back of his OL. I’ve never really noticed that with Vaki but I’ve seen him carry the ball like 25 times in my life so I want to be careful to be too declarative here.
I do think he looks really natural as a receiver. Easy hands, can do some WR stuff at the stem, doesn’t have to be facing the QB to track the ball etc.
If Pacheco is out for a long time both Saylors and Vaki are healthy my vote would be a platoon of sorts. If Gibbs is out of the game in more obvious running situations opt for Saylors. If it’s pass leaning situations I prefer a healthy Vaki.
It’s such a small sample size… I see a hard nose runner with some wiggle. I have to trust people that have seen him in camp. When Monty went down in 2024, it wasn’t 4th round Vaki who picked up the load, it was UDFA Craig Reynolds… Why?
I do think the receiving stuff looks natural for him but perhaps there is confirmation bias at play. That USC game was just one of those when I was watching it and was awestruck so I’m probably a bit out of balance with my Vaki belief.
It was also reported when he was drafted that the Lions were the only team in the entire league that saw him as a RB… That gives me some pause as well as the preverbial “smartest man in the room” vibes
I think the kid said that in the post draft interview questions from reporters. Teams were looking at him as a safety, Lions were looking at him as a RB. Again, iirc but pretty sure I am
People have to remember he hadn’t played RB very long so he’s raw at the little things the Lions expect from a starting RB. Like blitz pickup and setting up blocks.
The Lions knew it would be a bit before he’d be able to regularly contribute and play at RB. In the meantime can be a gadget player,
They give him snaps at RB, Slot receiver and ST in practice so he’s not getting the carries and snaps at RB soley.
Dan himself said this is the deepest receiver group he’s ever coached.
Let’s look at the facts.
Most teams only have 4 active receivers on game days. The Lions will have 5 minimum if you count Meeks. Which you should.
The Lions top 3 are arguably the best trio in the league. Few teams have 3 receivers of this caliber.
Teams do not usually have much proven depth behind their top 3 but the Lions have
Meeks and Kennedy behind their top 3
Out of all the guys cut none of them would move the needle much at all. None of them would be active on game day. So what are your expectations here?
The Lions are expected to run 12-13 personnel on 30-35 of their plays. Which means only two WR’s will be on the field. We won’t be using our WR’s as heavy as most all other teams in the NFL will. So we won’t need as much depth to begin with.
Jackson, Martin and Kennedy are better than most teams 4-6th receivers. Add in Meeks and our depth is better than most teams. Which is why Dan made that statement. He knows he has plenty of receiving options.
Lastly factor in that Gibbs is expected to take significant snaps at WR and slot. And Vaki is also being used as a gadget player and emergency slot receiver.
Once you look at who the Lions have that can catch and play receiver and who will be active each week… you quickly realize the Lions have far more options than most every team in the NFL. That’s why they knew they only needed to carry 4 on the 53.
We’re one of the deepest teams in the NFL at skill positions. To claim otherwise is just an over reaction.
I was pretty split. When we announced that he was a RB I was excited bc the vision was apparent to me personally. Though I do think whether it was safety or RB the thought process was always this is our Steve Tasker or Matthew Slater. Not saying their ST usage is identical but instead that we saw him as a unique level of ST player. That was our Sundae and the rest was the cherry on top.
For us, specifically, I was fine with it. I just considered him a safety personally when I evaluated him. Mostly because I thought he was a perfectly decent prospect as a safety and a complete shot in the dark as an RB. Yes, the highlights were great, but the sample size was just so small. Frankly offensively I liked the idea of him as a slot receiver more than RB, and was hoping that was the type of RB we were getting. Almost a Riddick/Woodhead type. Still might be the case. He’s a very natural pass-catcher.
That’s probably a good ideal comp at RB. I think he has more tackle breaking potential as a runner than Riddick ever did. I also don’t think he is/was a straight up WR like Theo was and neither was Danny.
I forgot to mention Lovett. The Lions have 3 WR’s on the PS. They could decide to bring Kennedy or another WR up to the 53. Would that make you feel better about our depth?
Then what if I told you that if they did bring someone up then that person wouldn’t be active on game day anyways?
The Lions will only have 4 active WRs on game day. So the rest doesn’t matter if thier on the 53 or PS. Truth is I suspect there will be games Kennedy or someone else is pulled up. This will be in games where we plan to run more 11 personnel
IMO he’s getting elevated and then rostered as WR5 once they don’t have to guarantee the full year contract. Then they’ll continue to be flexible about in season upgrades.
In 2018… CJ Anderson crawled off his couch and ran for 100+ yards in 3 straight games (including a playoff win) for the Rams… while Gurley had a Kerby Joseph knee.
The Shanahan & Kubiak offenses also used to plug in random late round picks and routinely churn out 1000+ yard rushers.
