Sione Vaki (RB – DET)
We’re getting to the point in the fantasy season where fantasy managers need to stop worrying about middling depth. Instead, they should be adding high-upside handcuffs to the back end of their rosters whenever they can.
Sione Vaki is one of those handcuffs.
The third-year pro had just 74 career rushing yards entering Week 8. Against a relentless and punishing Minnesota defense, Vaki rushed for a career-high 65 yards on 11 carries. He averaged an impressive 5.9 yards per carry, picked up three first downs, and forced five missed tackles in Detroit’s 19-15 win over the Vikings.
Not a bad day at the office, especially when you consider Jahmyr Gibbs had 153 yards and a score on 23 carries. Gibbs was a beast, but Vaki helped to close out the game, too, racking up 39 total yards in the fourth quarter.
On the afternoon, 44 of Vaki’s 65 rushing yards came after contact. He chewed up yardage and made defenders pay in a noteworthy performance. Perhaps this outing will convince the Lions to give him a few extra touches each week, as he’s shown he can be an impactful change-of-pace option.
More importantly, though, he seems to be the clear backup to Gibbs, who now has 191 touches through seven games. That’s a 17-game pace of 464 touches. Can the 5-foot-9, 202-pound Gibbs handle that much workload? Obviously, we don’t want anything to happen to the fantasy RB1, but if Gibbs misses a game or two, Vaki would be the next man up.
If you have the roster space, I suggest adding the former fourth-round pick. If Vaki ever gets the chance to start in this offense, he’d be an immediate plug-and-play RB2. There aren’t many players — if any — sitting on dynasty waiver wires with that kind of contingent upside.
