CONGRATULATIONS: Lions lands in WR from the Cardinals
After rookie camp this week, the Detroit Lions are reportedly going to sign a former wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Kaden Davis, who was on Arizona’s practice squad and had one appearance in a game last season, is moving to the NFC North. Davis was brought in by the Lions to rookie camp.
In the previous preseason, Davis had eight catches for a touchdown.
After Davis signed a futures contract with the Cardinals after the 2023 season, the team waived him on April 30.
After graduating from Division II Northwest Missouri State in 2022, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Davis signed an undrafted free agency contract with the Broncos. He was on Denver’s practice squad on January 11, 2023, when he was waived.
After that, the 25-year-old joined the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, where he finished five games with 416 total yards, two touchdowns, 333 return yards, and 83 receiving yards.
Top wide receivers in Arizona include Zach Pascal, recently signed veteran Zay Jones, Greg Dortch, second-year wideout Michael Wilson, and No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. Tejhaun Palmer, a UAB product selected 191st overall in the draft, was another receiver the Cardinals added.
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After a “dominant” minicamp, Lions rookie running back Earns Buzz: Insider
General manager of the Detroit Lions Brad Holmes made a suggestion that the organization had high expectations for fourth-round pick Sione Vaki, a defensive back at Utah University before switching to running back.
This week at the team’s rookie minicamp, Vaki demonstrated his versatility and received high praise for his performance. According to Tim Twentyman, a reporter on the team’s official website, the former Utah standout was “dominant” during special teams drills and had a significant offensive impact.
“It’s simple to understand why the Detroit Lions fell in love with fourth-round pick Sione Vaki’s game during the pre-draft process after watching him participate in the first open rookie minicamp practice on Friday,” Twentyman wrote.
“He showed dominance during special teams drills. He once got to the returner first on three consecutive coverage team reps, which would have been a tackle (minicamp did not allow for hitting or pads).”
The “terrific” footwork of a rookie running back
Vaki converted from safety and defensive back before the 2023 season, so he just had one collegiate season of experience at running back when he joined the Lions. He was an obvious choice, as seen by his 15 rushes for 158 yards and two touchdowns in his debut as a running back for the Utes, according to Christian Booher of SI.com’s All Lions.
Twentyman reported that since Detroit’s minicamp commenced on May 10, he had looked even more impressive when carrying the ball.
Despite having only 42 carries in college after deciding to switch to offense due to injuries at the position, the safety-turned-running back shown excellent footwork, agility, and balance during individual running back exercises, according to Twentyman. “He caught 11 passes for 203 yards and three more touchdowns, adding to his 317 rushing yards and two touchdowns.”
In individual exercises, Vaki demonstrated “terrific hands and good route-running ability,” according to Twentyman.
Vaki was also highly praised by Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit, who said that he “came away impressed with his decisiveness and downhill running style.” Reisman also suggested that Vaki might be a candidate for return specialist, a role that will become more crucial in light of the league’s new kickoff return policy.
The Lions worked on the new kickoff for a portion of practice. Vaki’s special teams potential definitely showed during this part of practice, but I’ll just let you know that because of media laws, I can’t tell you where individual players were playing,” Reisman wrote.
Brad Holmes Teases a Rookie RB Scheme
Vaki was a safety when the team first began scouting him, according to Holmes, who also mentioned that the scouts saw Vaki’s move to running back and were impressed by his field vision.
According to SI.com, Holmes remarked, “I first saw him when he had first made the switch when they got kind of short at running back there at Utah.” They simply asked him to step in. However, we were more interested in him as a safety, even though he runs with such ease. I said to myself, “Wait, where did he get these backyard instincts of just running the ball and making these plays?” He’s not even majoring in it, yet he possesses these instincts that are (more) natural (than) we believed.
Holmes continued by saying that the Lions may take use of Vaki’s versatility by using him more as a pass-catcher and special teams player in addition to his backfield duties.
