Vaki was the clear backup ahead of Jacob Saylors for a second straight week.
At the start of the game, Vaki was generally a third-down back, similar to last week. The Lions were down 21-0 after running seven plays, so Vaki turned into a player to give Gibbs a break on long drives over the rest of the game.
The Lions traded away Montgomery this offseason, which was good news for Gibbs’ ceiling. Gibbs already saw increased playing time last season after starting his career in a two-man rotation with Montgomery. While Gibbs was likely seeing as much playing time as he could handle last season, Montgomery was still a thorn in Gibbs’ fantasy ceiling, with his eight rushing touchdowns. Detroit signed Isiah Pacheco to be Gibbs’ new backup, but he is starting the season on injured reserve. This leaves Jacob Saylors and Sione Vaki as Detroit’s reserves in the short run. Gibbs played 74% of snaps, which was very similar to the end of last season. The difference is he played 100% of snaps in short-yardage and goal-line situations, and only 30% of snaps on third downs. It’s rare for running backs to play over 80% of snaps, and third downs are the best situation for a fantasy running back to be off the field, as those plays rarely lead to touches for a running back relative to all other situations. This ultimately creates to more touches per snap, and a higher percentage of the touchdowns will be going to Gibbs. Anyone who drafted Gibbs 1.01 will be happy after this game. It is worth noting that Vaki took all of the other snaps, rather than Saylors. If Gibbs were to suffer an injury before Pacheco returns, it appears Vaki would be the running back to pick up.
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