Tag: Sione Vaki

Potential safety targets in 2024 draft for Jeff Hafley’s Packers defense

Who could be safety targets in the 2024 draft for Jeff Hafley’s Packers defense?

If the Green Bay Packers were to play a game this Sunday, they’d roll out Anthony Johnson Jr and Benny Sapp III as their two starting safeties. With Darnell Savage Jr, Rudy Ford and Jonathon Owens set to be free agents, Brian Gutekunst will need to get new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley some safety help this offseason.

“I think it’s an important spot,” Hafley said during his introductory press conference on Thursday. “I think that guy back in the middle of the field, when things break down – when they throw the ball up in the air, he has to go and get it. I think it’s a very important spot in the defense.”

As a team last season the Packers picked off just seven passes, with three of those interceptions coming from the safety group. If it’s up to Hafley, that number will rise during his first season as defensive coordinator at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.

“I want a guy who can erase things,” Hafley said. “We gotta eliminate explosive plays when we play this defense, so if a run hits up the middle, this guy’s gotta come out of the middle field with his hair on fire, he’s gotta be able to get a guy down. I also want him to be a guy, when a ball carrier is wrapped up, he goes and he finishes off the pile. I want a guy who can go from sideline to sideline and take the ball away. I think that position has to be a guy with high ball production, meaning he’s gotta be able to intercept the ball. He’s gotta be a guy that can communicate and he’s gotta be a guy that can get guys lined up and make some calls back there and I’d love a guy that can play man, so I guess I’m describing the perfect player to you, but those are some of the traits I’d look for in playing that position.”

There is a lot to digest from what Hafley looks for out of his safeties. Let’s take a look at some defensive backs that fit the bill and that could be targets for the Packers in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa

Yes, technically DeJean is listed as a cornerback. If the Packers zone in on the Iowa product, they’d likely view him as a hybrid defensive back. He has the rangy athleticism to play centerfield to be the field eraser that Hafley described. He’s quick to trigger coming downhill in run support. Most importantly, DeJean has natural ball skills. Over the past two seasons, DeJean picked off seven passes, broke up 13 passes and scored three touchdowns. He’s the playmaker that Hafley’s defensive scheme needs.

Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota

While Nubin may not be the rangiest of safeties in this class he checks a lot of boxes with his ball production and willingness in run support. He’s the first natural safety that came to mind when listening to Hafley describe what he looks for in a safety. 

The Gopher safety is a great communicator from the backend and recognizes route concepts. He’s rarely out of position and doesn’t give up explosive plays. He keeps everything in front of him. A former high school wide receiver, Nubin has natural ball skills and finished his career with 13 interceptions. As a run defender, he has the downfield burst and takes proper angles to the ball carrier.

Kamren Kinchens, S, Miami

When talking about natural safeties, Kinchens may have the range in this draft class. He covers a lot of real estate in the backend. Over the past two seasons, the Miami safety picked off 11 passes and broke up 11 more. He understands route combinations and has good field vision. While he’s a willing participant in run support, he’s prone to the occasional whiff (24 missed tackles over the past two seasons). 

Javon Bullard, DB, Georgia

Bullard has the toolkit to be a high-end hybrid defensive back. A former track athlete, Bullard recorded four interceptions and eight pass deflections over the past two seasons. He has the fluidity and short-area quickness to line up in the slot and the range to cover the backend. He flies downhill in run support and packs a little punch when he arrives. 

Calen Bullock, S, USC

The USC safety may have the most natural ball skills of any safety in this draft class. He plays the ball like a wide receiver and finished his career at USC with nine interceptions and 15 pass deflections. He has disciplined eyes and covers a lot of real estate. His poor tackling may keep him off Green Bay’s board. 

Beau Brade, DB, Maryland

The Maryland product brings a versatile skill set. He can play in the box, in the slot or high. He has a quick trigger coming downhill, but will need to clean up his tackling (35 missed tackles over the past two seasons). He has good field vision and is an explosive mover.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, DB, Texas Tech

The Texas Tech defensive back has a radar for the football. Over the past three seasons, Taylor-Demerson has picked off 10 passes and recorded 33 pass deflections. He has true centerfield range and a high football IQ with good route instincts. Taylor-Demerson has outstanding closing burst when he attacks downhill against the run.

Malik Mustapha, DB, Wake Forest

If Hafley wants a defensive back that plays with his hair on fire, he may fall in love with Mustapha. He’s as tough as nails and flies downhill in run support. He plays with a thumper mentality and lays the wood upon arrival. The Wake Forest defensive back is at his best coming downhill, he has enough range to play in the backend.

Sione Vaki, DB, Utah

Another player that plays like his hair is on fire. The Utah defensive back is a heat-seeking missile and he wants to knock you into another dimension. He’s an explosive athlete and is quick to process the action in front of him. He’s a versatile prospect who can wear multiple hats in Hafley’s defense.

Cole Bishop, S, Utah

The Utah safety is at his best playing closer to the line of scrimmage, but he’s capable of filling multiple roles for a defense. Whether he’s playing in the slot, in the box or deep, Bishop is always around the football. 

Jaden Hicks, S, Washington State

Like Bishop, Hicks is at his best playing closer to the line of scrimmage. That doesn’t mean he can’t roam the middle of Hafley’s defense. Hicks is an active run defender and explodes downhill to meet the ball carrier. Line him up in the box, in the slot or deep, it doesn’t matter, the physicality that Hicks plays with is exactly what Green Bay’s defense needs. He’s another safety who plays with a relentless energy that Hafley is looking for as he looks to build this defense. 

Josh Proctor, S, Ohio State

Hafley coached Proctor during the 2019 season at Ohio State. Talk to anybody around that covered Ohio State this past season and they’ll tell you Proctor was one of the leaders on that defense. He’s a cerebral player who is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type prospect. He’s just a well-rounded player that can wear multiple hats.

Ravens 7-round mock draft 2.0 as we look towards NFL free agency

The Baltimore Ravens are retooling and we’ve unveiled are second 2024 NFL Mock draft of the offseason and ahead of the scouting combine

The Ravens are looking to regroup after exiting the playoffs via a disastrous 17-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs in the AFC title game.

Baltimore is currently 20th in the NFL in cap space, with $7.3 million available, and there will be critical decisions regarding several vital contributors and two All-Pros.

And they’re spending about $120+ million plus on the offensive side of the football.

Baltimore also has 29 players scheduled to hit free agency, and some tough decisions will be made regarding who returns.

With the Reese’s Senior Bowl complete and the NFL scouting combine approaching, we’re looking at the Ravens Wire’s second seven-round mock draft of the offseason via PFF.

Browns target explosive WR, versatile S in new Draft Wire 2024 NFL draft mock

The Browns have hit on their mid-round picks over the last two drafts. Can they do so again this year?

In a new 2024 NFL draft mock done by our friends at Draft Wire, the Cleveland Browns reeled in Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy and Utah safety Sione Vaki with their second and third rounders.

While the Browns do not have any first round picks, they have done an excellent job of landing mid-round talents that have become immediate contributors. Cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., defensive end Alex Wright, offensive tackle Dawand Jones, and cornerback Cameron Mitchell all fit the bill here.

In their last year without a first rounder, general manager Andrew Berry and his team will look to do more of the same this year.

Worthy is a pretty frequent target for the Browns to land in these mock draft exercises as they will look to upgrade their pedestrian wide receiver room this offseason. The explosive Longhorn wideout accumulated over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Vaki is an intriguing prospect because not only does he play safety and nickel, but he also took running back snaps with the Utes in 2023. This past season, Vaki racked up 51 tackles, 8.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, two sacks, two passes defended, and one interception while lining up on the defensive side of the ball. He added another 520 yards and five touchdowns lining up in the backfield on the offensive side of the ball as well.

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10 players to watch on Reese’s Senior Bowl National team’s defense

From Penn State CB Kalen King to UCLA OLB Laiatu Latu, these 10 players from the National team at the Senior Bowl are ones to keep an eye on

One of the most important events on the National Football League calendar is the Senior Bowl. Held the week after the conference championship games, it is the true beginning of the NFL draft cycle.

Not only do scouts and analysts like us get to see over 100 draft prospects in one place competing against each other, but it’s also an opportunity for analysts and personnel alike to get together and have discussions about a number of topics.

As we look forward to this year’s Senior Bowl, managing editor Tyler Forness will be there in person to break everything down.

During the week, these 10 players on the National Team’s defense are worth keeping your eye on.

3 Keys to victory for the Oregon Ducks against the Utah Utes

3 Keys to victory for the Oregon Ducks against the Utah Utes

On Saturday, the Oregon Ducks will face off against the Utah Utes in what will surely be one of their toughest tests of the season. The Utah Utes are without their best QB Cam Rising — as they have been all season — but in recent weeks, Bryson Barnes has emerged as a strong leader for the Utes’ offense. Sione Vaki, a safety, has also started playing RB for Utah and has seen a lot of success.

The Ducks will have their hands full on Saturday, but they also have the tools necessary to win this game. Below, are the three things I think are most necessary for Oregon to do to leave Salt Lake City with another tally in the win column this Saturday.

Play mistake-free

(Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa)

The Ducks have struggled this year to play complete games — particularly on offense. There have been consistent penalties all year, and we’ve also seen some predictable offensive schemes from Will Stein to start games, which has resulted in slow starts for the Oregon offense. If the Ducks can avoid all those issues, I think they’ll be set up for success.

Shut down Utah’s run game

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As I mentioned earlier, Sione Vaki has unlocked the Utes offense with his ability out of the backfield, but Bryson Barnes has also been able to do great things as a runner. With the combo of Barnes and Vaki in Utah’s backfield, Oregon’s run defense will need to be in top form to stifle the Utes offense.

Win the turnover battle

(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

This kind of goes hand-in-hand with “playing mistake-free,” but I think if the Ducks can create takeaways while limiting turnovers of their own, they’ll be successful in this game. Since the Oregon offense has sometimes taken a few quarters to settle in, a few extra possessions for that unit could be what the Ducks need to secure a win.

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USC will have a tough matchup against Utah’s Sione Vaki

Move over, Travis Hunter. There’s another two-way threat in the Pac-12, and he faces USC next.

The Utah Utes have lost Micah Bernard and Chris Curry in the backfield. Ja’Quinden Jackson finally looked healthy this past Saturday (against Cal) for the first time in weeks. However, Kyle Whittingham and the Utes used safety Sione Vaki at running back in that Cal game as well. It paid off versus the Golden Bears.

Vaki stepped up for Utah in a 34-14 win. Vaki posted 15 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns and added four total tackles on defense.

Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said, “Sione has a great offensive background, he was a really good offensive player in high school.”

Sione Vaki was named the Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week for his two-way excellence against Cal. The Paul Hornung Award is given to the most versatile player in college football. Travis Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes is an obvious candidate. Vaki became a prime candidate with his game against Cal.

Look for Ludwig and Whittingham to use Vaki in offensive packages against the Trojans on Saturday.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Utah safety Sione Vaki breaks 72-yard TD run out of wildcat formation

Sione Vaki goes 72 yards out of the wildcat for Utah

Utah’s Sione Vaki came into Saturday’s game with one rush for 6 yards in 2023.

That’s okay because Vaki is a safety on the Utes’ defense.

Against Cal in a Pac-12 game, Vaki came in and took a snap out of the wildcat formation, which he had done a number of times previous in this game.

He added 12 times the amount of rushing yardage he had coming into the game after the play.

Cal might be excused for not being ready because Vaki hadn’t been a rushing threat for a few years.

His high school stats:

  • 1,684 all-purpose yards as a senior included 111 kick return (1 TD), 96 punt return, 75 interception return and 43 rushing (1 TD).
  • 65 receptions for 1,359 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2018, averaging 104.5 yards per game and 20.9 yards per catch.
  • Part of the 2018 Liberty BVAL championship squad that finished second in California in the open division.
  • 45 tackles, an interception returned 47 yards for a touchdown and two fumble recoveries as a junior in 2017.
  • As a junior, 1,214 all-purpose yards included 809 receiving (12 TD) and 358 rushing (6 TD), helping Liberty to the 2017 CIF North Coast Section Division I state title.