From now until the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Utah safety, Sione Vaki.
#28 SIONE VAKI, S, UTAH (SO) — 5111, 210 lbs.
Senior Bowl
Combine
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Sione Vaki | 5111/210 | 8 5/8″ | 29 1/8″ | 72 1/8″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.62 | 1.54 | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’5″ | 39.5 | 20 |
The Good
— Good athleticism and toughness
— Very good burst and good speed
— Solid Zone defender and displays good pursuit
— Potential to cover tight ends in Man coverage
— Disruptive blitzer potential
— Physical in the run game
— Excellent pursuit to run down players on the far side of the field
— Experience playing running back
— Strong special teams profile
The Bad
— Currently not a candidate to play the deep safety
— Doesn’t read route combinations well and opens his hip too early playing deep
— Man coverage technique needs to be coached up
— Stares in the backfield too long playing in slot
— Don’t want him covering wide receivers
— Needs to improve angles to runners on the outside
— Too aggressive coming downhill and will overrun the ball
— Aims too high when tackling
Bio
— Career: 92 tackles, 71 solo, 12 TFL, two sacks, 1 INT, 6 PBU, 1 FF
— 2023: 51 tackles, 37 solo, 8.5 TFL, two sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBU
— Offensive stats (RB): 42 carries, 317 yards, 2 TD; 11 receptions, 203 yards, 3 TD
— 26 games, 17 starts
— Senior Bowl invitee
— 2023 finalist for both Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and Paul Hornung Award
— 2023 All-America Second team All-Purpose (SI, Sporting News)
— First team All-PAC12 (2023)
— Joined Utah after a two-year church mission
— Age: 22
Tape Breakdown
There are always a few prospects that have interesting stories. Sione Vaki enters the draft with just two years of college playing experience. He spent two years on a church mission before beginning his playing career. A safety by trade, he also spent time on offense as a running back, scoring five touchdowns on just 53 touches.
Against the pass, Vaki was used as the single high safety, split safety, in the slot and in the box. As a split safety, he showed solid range and improved his angles to the ball later in the season. While playing Zone underneath, he showed good mobility and a solid awareness of his area. He follows the quarterback’s eyes and follows with good pursuit and burst to the ball.
Here are a couple of examples of his burst and speed.
When he plays under control, he can cut off plays with potential.
In the slot, he was asked to play a lot of Off-Man coverage. He has displayed solid physicality and was able to match up with tight ends well. When aligned closer to the line of scrimmage, he displayed a solid backpedal and hip flexibility to mirror receivers and has good speed to stick with deep routes.
He was used to blitz, and with his burst and speed, there is plenty of potential there to be very disruptive.
Against the run, he will stick his nose in anywhere. When near the line of scrimmage, he is willing to take on blockers at the front side of the play to funnel the ball back inside. On the backside, he has very good pursuit and works through traffic well to chase down ball carriers across the field. His tackling is good when his aiming point is low.
Speed working through traffic from the backside.
He was solid in run support.
On the offensive side of the ball, as a runner, he displayed solid vision, very good acceleration, and the speed to make big runs. He ran mostly one-cut run designs but also handled direct snaps. As a receiver, he was used on swing, wheel, and screen passes, showing solid hands and solid yards after the catch.
The farther he gets from the line of scrimmage, the more out of place he looks. As the single high and split safety, he didn’t read route combinations well, opened his hips too soon, and often didn’t get enough depth to help on deep routes. In the slot, he was often flatfooted and waited for the receiver to get to his level before reacting. You don’t want him on wide receivers in the slot. In the slot, he stares too long in the backfield focused on the running back and will lose his receiver.
Vaki has his eyes in the backfield here and drifts outside, leaving an easy completion to the receiver.
When coming downhill to make a tackle, he needs to settle sooner to not overrun the ball. Too often, he tackles too high, slowing the runner but not taking him down. From the middle of the field, when ranging outside, his angles are inconsistent.
Here, he overruns the ball, causing him to miss the tackle.
Conclusion
Overall, Sione Vaki has solid size with good speed and athleticism. His Zone awareness is solid and is solid versus tight ends in Man coverage. He has good acceleration and burst to the ball in Zone coverage and has potential as a blitzer. He is better close to the line of scrimmage, displays good pursuit in the run game, and is tough to block when working on the edge.
Areas to improve include understanding route combinations and techniques in coverage on the backend. In Man coverage, he needs to focus more on the receiver and know when to take his eyes out of the backfield. Adjusting his aiming point when tackling and throttling down to not overrun the ball will add to more success.
He needs to be coached up on the defensive side of the ball, but teams are going to like his toughness, burst, and athleticism. Initially, he will be a core special team player with the potential to be a box safety in some subpackages. It’s not out of the realm for him to be used as the emergency running back to save a roster spot as well.
For a comp, I’ll suggest Josh Metellus. Coming out, he was a good run supporter and possessed athletic traits to continue to improve. He was mainly a special team player his first couple of years before becoming a full-time starter in year four.
Projection: Late Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 6.5 End of Roster/Practice Squad (6th Round)
Games Watched: 2023 – Vs UCLA, At Oregon State, Vs California, Vs Oregon, At Washington
