Throughout the draft process, there was a lot of hype about Utah safety Cole Bishop. He is a good-looking player, a guy a lot of NFL scouts really like.
I like the other Utah safety more. That’s Sione Vaki, a tough, violent player who plays a lot faster than he timed and a lot bigger than he looks at 5-11 1/8, 210 pounds. Vaki is this year’s captain of my annual Better-Than Team made up of prospects I like more than the scouts — with most being down-the-line draft guys.
The team is made up of 20 players who have a lot of tradition to live up to, especially the captain. Some of my past captains were Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David and Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Some past members of the team were Dak Prescott, Stefon Diggs and Za’Darius Smith. Last year I had Tank Dell, Sam LaPorta and Demario Douglas to name a few. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been misses, especially since these are outside-the-first-round players for the most part.
This year’s captain is pure football player, as evidenced by the fact he played offense (running back), defense and all special teams for the Utes. Let’s just say No. 28 showed up a lot for Utah. He had 53 touches as a running back, including five touchdowns.
But you are drafting him to be a part of the defense and a core special teams player.
Vaki timed at 4.62 in the 40, which isn’t great but his speed to get to the football and chase down plays is better than that. He has football speed.
There are a lot of plays on tape where he runs down a ball carrier, showing off the burst to do so. He’s also really good when lined up near the line of scrimmage, willing to take on bigger blockers and pullers while winning a lot.
Vaki also played some deep safety, which probably isn’t his strength, but he does come down in the run game and makes plays, and he’s more than capable in zone coverage to get over the top on long pass plays. Where he could have problems is if he’s in man coverage, but that could be because he lacks experience.
After high school, Vaki went on a Mormon mission for two years and returned to the Utah program in 2022 as a freshman. He started 17 games the past two years, then was allowed to petition to enter the draft this year.
On offense, he can do a lot of things. As a runner, he took snaps in the wildcat but also showed he can take a handoff and pick up tough yards. Against Cal, he…
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