30. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (14-4)

LAST SEASON: Survived early knee injury to QB Sam Bradford and thrived behind Case Keenum's breakout season Phil Niekro Jersey , taking advantage of broken collarbone for rival Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to win NFC North for second time in three years on strength of eight-game winning streak. Newcomers Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers bookended improved OL. WRs Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs flourished in OC Pat Shurmur's scheme. "Minneapolis Miracle" throw from Keenum to Diggs on last play of game gave Vikings victory over New Orleans in division round. Coach Mike Zimmer's defense fed off loud home crowds and led NFL with fewest yards and points allowed, but faltered in 38-7 loss at Philadelphia in NFC championship game. That dashed team's dream of becoming unprecedented Super Bowl host, watching Eagles win title on Minnesota's turf two weeks later. Still, 2017 will be considered top-10 season in franchise's title-less history.

THEY NEED: G, T, CB, RB, TE, LB.

THEY DON'T NEED: QB Cheap Mike McGlinchey Jersey , C, DE, WR.

POSSIBLE FIRST PICK: G Isaiah Wynn, Georgia; G Connor Williams, Texas; T Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame; T Orlando Brown, Oklahoma; CB Josh Jackson, Iowa.

OUTLOOK: With Kirk Cousins new QB after signing record contract in free agency, Vikings focus on upgrading OL overwhelmed by Eagles' pressure in NFC title game. RG Joe Berger has retired Kevin Johnson Jersey , potentially opening starting spot for first-round pick. With Thielen, Diggs and new WR Kendall Wright, plus TE Kyle Rudolph and RB Dalvin Cook returning from knee injury that cut short rookie season, Cousins has plenty of capable targets to throw to. But another field-stretching pass-catching TE could serve new OC John DeFilippo well. Teams can never have enough quality CBs, so using high pick at position would not be surprising for more support behind Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes. Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr are borderline stars at LB, but depth would help. With Super Bowl window still open for Vikings, one or two immediate starters will be priority.

Because he isn't likely to play more than a series or two in Friday's preseason opener, Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford has a few modest goals for the Lions offense.

"Just execute and communicate at a high level," Stafford said Wednesday. "Get out there and communicate and make sure everybody's on the same page. At the end of the day Cassius Marsh Jersey 49ers , on offense if everybody's communicating on the same page you're going to have a chance to be successful. That's the biggest thing, go out there and make sure that we're just playing good, sound football."

The Lions spent the past two days conducting joint workouts with Oakland at the Raiders' training camp facilities in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.

Following Tuesday's 2 1/2-hour practice, which was highlighted by a multi-player brawl that ended a team scrimmage session, the Lions packed up to travel to a hotel 75 miles south of Napa where they'll stay until Friday's game.

Detroit first-year coach Matt Patricia declined to say how much Stafford and the rest of the Lions starters will play.

"I'm just trying to get through today's practice and make sure I get everybody going in the right direction," Patricia said prior to Tuesday's practice. "We'll find out on Friday."

The Lions' first offense had an uneven day against the Raiders during the team scrimmage. They were flagged for three penalties and sputtered on their initial drive before Stafford found wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. for deep completions.

"I feel physically good," Stafford said. "Obviously another year in the system is going to hopefully help me expand my ability within the system to get us into the best plays possible. I feel very comfortable at the line of scrimmage doing our thing, but I can always be better. I'm always trying to find ways to improve and to get the ball to those playmakers at a higher clip."

Stafford passed for 4,446 yards with 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2017 Tyquan Lewis Jersey , his seventh consecutive season with 4,200 yards or more. The 30-year-old quarterback also had a career-best 99.3 passer rating.

Detroit, which hasn't made it past the wild card round of the playoffs since 1991, won three of its final four games down the stretch but failed to advance to the postseason.

Although he won't be on the field very long Friday, Stafford is relishing playing in a game after mostly practicing against Detroit's defense before the two workouts with Oakland.

"It's a good change-up," Stafford said. "We have to go out and prepare for another defense a night before. You don't have a ton of time to look at them. You just go out there and try to execute your stuff as well as you can. I've got players on this team that I've never played an NFL game with before so it's going to be to see how they go about their business and how they react."

Tuesday's practice got chippy when Lions defensive end Anthony Zettel hit Raiders backup guard Jon Feliciano from the side, sparking a fracas involving multiple players before they were eventually pulled apart.

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