The Minnesota Vikings put the two picks they had in the first 108 selections in the 2017 draft to productive use.

They moved up in both the second and third rounds for running back Dalvin Cook and center Pat Elflein to obtain a pair of players expected to be long-term cogs in their offense.

They'll be bargain-hunters again this time Tony Romo Jersey , with the 30th pick in the first round and thereafter.

Just like last year, the offensive line will be the point of emphasis.

After reaching the NFC championship game and going all in on quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Vikings could use some more protection for their new franchise player. So it's up to general manager Rick Spielman and his staff to, well, find another Elflein.

With the retirement of right guard Joe Berger, there's a vacancy for the Vikings to fill inside. Fortunately for them, the center-guard class is considered well-stocked. Will Hernandez (UTEP), Connor Williams (Texas) and Isaiah Wynn (Georgia) are viable options if they're still available at No. 30 on Thursday night.

There are tackles to consider, too, a scenario that allows Mike Remmers to move inside as he did in the playoffs. If they go with a guard, Remmers can return to right tackle.

"When you have guys on your roster that can play multiple positions like that, that's what gives you the flexibility to go with the best player," Spielman said.

Cornerback, tight end and linebacker are other spots to consider for depth and beyond 2018.

"I know everybody in the mock world and the experts out there are saying it's o-line, o-line, o-line J.J. Jansen Jersey , but when you look at your roster, you have to look at, 'OK, where are some other holes that you're going to have to fill?'"

Here are some other relevant angles to follow during the draft this weekend with the Vikings:

THIRTY, THAT'S SOMETHING

Standout players can be had with the 30th pick. Last year, Pittsburgh snagged Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt there.

The St. Louis Rams grabbed Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree in 2013. The New York Jets nabbed defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson from Temple in 2011. In 2001, the Indianapolis Colts selected wide receiver Reggie Wayne out of Miami.

ON THE OTHER HAND

The Vikings were part of a league-high seven trades during the draft last year, which not only allowed them to move up for Cook and Elflein but netted them three extra picks on the third day for a total of nine players.

Picking 30th in a draft that's deep at a position the Vikings could use puts Spielman in a prime situation to trade out of the first round and stockpile additional late selections while assumedly being no worse for the wear.

"If you can get that same player in the second round, but you have an additional pick, why wouldn't you do that?" Spielman said.

TECH TALK

The Vikings have been in their new headquarters for almost two months. One of the many state-of-the-art features of the new facility is the auditorium where Spielman and the scouts and the coaching staff will gather for the draft.

Instead of the standard white board with magnets for each player in the pool, they'll use an all-digital, time-saving touch screen made up of 40 different 55-inch TVs.

"I was very nervous," Spielman said. "It's the first time in I think 30 years that I have never gone without magnets. But this board has been incredible."

HITS AND MISSES

Most of Minnesota's best players were drafted on Spielman's watch, including seven starters on the defense last season that led the NFL with the fewest points and yards allowed and five starters on the most productive offense in four years under coach Mike Zimmer.

That group includes four straight first-round picks: safety Harrison Smith (2012), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (2013), linebacker Anthony Barr (2014) and cornerback Trae Waynes (2015).

Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell is the glaring whiff Eric Ebron Jersey , with only 21 catches and 215 yards to show for the 23rd overall selection in 2016. Four guards and one tackle were taken over the next 33 picks that year.

The coaching staff has lauded Treadwell's work ethic, but there's not much time left for the Mississippi product to establish himself as a viable piece of the offense with Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and newcomer Kendall Wright in place.

Diggs came in the fifth round in 2015. Tight end David Morgan was a sixth-rounder in 2016. The Vikings need more third-day successes, though, with defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson (fourth round), linebacker Ben Gedeon (fourth round) and guard Danny Isidora (fifth round) presenting such potential from last year's draft.
With a career batting average under .100, Jon Lester might seem to be a pitcher who doesn’t care what he does at the plate.

Not true.

”It’s important to have good at-bats. I feel like I have done that regardless of the outcome,” he said.

Lester hit a three-run homer that highlighted an eight-run burst in the second inning and wound up with his NL-leading 11th win as the Chicago Cubs held off the Minnesota Twins 11-10 on Sunday.

”I’ve had good at-bats and I haven’t been just a one-pitch out guy. So I have worked some counts and I’ve been able to at least make the pitcher work,” he said. ”That’s all I’m trying to do.”

”If I get hits, I get hits,” he said. ”The home run is awesome, it’s cool, especially at home. It’s always fun to play here with the crowd and to be able to hit the ball into the bleachers. But at the end of the day I know I’m a pitcher and I’m not a hitter.”

Ian Happ also homered for the Cubs, who have scored at least 10 runs in four straight games for the first time since 1930. Chicago swept the three-game series and has won four in a row overall.

Brian Dozier hit a two-run homer and Jake Cave also homered for the Twins.

Minnesota concluded a 1-5 Chicago road trip that began with two losses in three tries to the White Sox, and fell 10 games below .500 for the first time this season.

Lester hit his second career home run, prompting a curtain call from the cheering fans.

Lester went 10 seasons Clint Boling Jersey , mostly in Boston with sporadic at-bats, before getting his first major league hit. Now, in his fourth season with the Cubs, Lester has put more of an emphasis into hitting.

”I really didn’t care about hitting there” in Boston, he said. ”I’m worried about David (Ortiz) and (Dustin) Pedroia and all of the other guys driving in runs as opposed to me.”

”Coming over here, it can change the outcome of a game, so it becomes a little more important and you work on it all year. In spring training you’re doing it from part of the second week on,” he said.

Lester (11-2) allowed four runs, two of them earned, and nine hits in five-plus innings.

Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer off Dillon Maples as the Twins scored five times in the eighth. Maples, called up from Triple-A before the game when pitcher Brian Duensing went on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder, also allowed an RBI single to Logan Morrison and a two-run triple to Willians Astudillo.

”Their offense, we just had trouble with it. Lot of big innings, lot of crooked numbers. I think our guys stayed with it. We got some opportunities there and got some big hits to get back in the game. When you get as close as we did late, it makes you think about some of the runs we gave up along the way, so that’s frustrating Jordan Mills Jersey ,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Javier Baez, who doubled twice, Happ and Willson Contreras each had three hits for the Cubs.

Cubs closer Brandon Morrow got one out in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances.

”They got out on us pretty early, but I love the fight of the guys in the dugout. I kind of had glimpses of last year’s team and our fight,” Dozier said.

In the third consecutive sweltering day at Wrigley Field with a gametime temperature at 93 degrees and a heat index at 101, the Cubs jumped all over Lance Lynn (5-7) in the second inning.

Baez doubled home two runs and Anthony Rizzo had an RBI double. Kyle Schwarber met reliever Matt Magill with the Cubs’ third straight double.

Cubs shortstop Addison Russell added an RBI single in the fourth inning and made a highlight grab in the sixth inning before leaving the game with an apparent injury resulting in the catch.

Russell bumped into Baez while making the running catch on Eduardo Escobar’s ball down the left-field line in foul territory. He walked off the field and into the dugout after talking to a team trainer and manager Joe Maddon. Maddon said Russell injured his left middle finger and he doesn’t believe it to be serious.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: LF Eddie Rosario, one of three Twins to leave Saturday’s game due to heat was in the lineup on Sunday. Teammates Bobby Wilson and Max Kepler were available, as was infielder Ehire Adrianza, who received intravenous fluids after finishing the game.

”We just encouraged everyone last night to rest and hydrate the best they could again this morning to get themselves in positions to get through the game,” Molitor said. ”You just try to be aware of it. There’s not much you can do: You’ve got to play people and you’ve got to get through the game.” … SS Jorge Polanco’s 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension ends Monday and Molitor said he expects him to rejoin the club in Milwaukee after a stint with Triple-A Rochester.

Cubs: OF Albert Almora didn’t start, but he came in the game in the eighth as a defensive replacement after leaving Saturday’s game due to dehydration. Almora suffered cramps in his legs and was removed in the fifth inning. Almora had a nice sliding catch in center to rob Kepler in the ninth.

UP NEXT

Twins: Visit Milwaukee on Monday as they continue their interleague schedule. Kyle Gibson (2-6) is the scheduled starter. He had another rough outing against the White Sox in his last start on June 27. He allowed five runs on a season-high 11 hits.

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-8) will try to bounce back from his shortest outing of season on Tuesday against the Tigers. Hendricks allowed six runs Melvin Frazier Jersey ,