MINNESOTA VIKINGS (14-4)

New faces: Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo Authentic Brandon Parker Jersey , QB Kirk Cousins, DT Sheldon Richardson, PK Daniel Carlson, CB/KR Mike Hughes, C/G Brett Jones, SS George Iloka, WR Kendall Wright, OL Tom Compton, QB Trevor Siemian, OT Brian O’Neill.

Key losses: Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, QB Case Keenum, QB Sam Bradford, QB Teddy Bridgewater, RB Jerick McKinnon, G/C Joe Berger 49ers Cassius Marsh Jersey , PK Kai Forbath, WR Jarius Wright, DT Tom Johnson, DT Shamar Stephen, OL Jeremiah Sirles.

Strengths: Defense that led NFL in fewest yards and fewest points allowed per game last season only got stronger with free agent additions Richardson and Iloka. First-round draft pick Hughes, also potential kick returner, provides depth at critical position in mix for nickel package playing time in slot with Mackensie Alexander and Terence Newman. FS Harrison Smith and CB Xavier Rhodes headline one of best secondaries in league. Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs give newcomer Cousins one of best WR tandems in NFL, with veteran TE Kyle Rudolph viable red zone target. Cousins topped 4,000 passing yards for Washington while playing in every game over each of last three years.

Weaknesses: OL lost Berger to retirement and starting LG Nick Easton in training camp to neck injury. Starting C Pat Elflein has missed entire preseason, recovering from offseason ankle and shoulder surgeries. Second-round draft pick O’Neill is long-term project, with questionable depth at OT spots in case of injury to Riley Reiff and/or Rashod Hill. Sudden death of OL coach Tony Sparano right before training camp was big blow. Special teams bear watching, too, with rookie Carlson taking over high-pressure position for Forbath and P Ryan Quigley coming off so-so 2017. Vikings did not have any kickoff or punt return TDs last year, and coverage units were burned often during preseason.

Fantasy Players To Watch: RB Dalvin Cook. Well on way to stellar rookie year, Cook tore ACL in left knee in fourth game. He averaged 112 yards from scrimmage Adidas Mitchell Marner Jersey , 22 total touches and three receptions per game and scored two TDs in abbreviated debut. Latavius Murray, who rushed for 745 yards and eight TDs over last 10 games of regular season, provides proven backup.

Vegas Says: Super Bowl 12-1. Over/under wins 10.

Expectations: After riding Keenum to NFC championship game, fueled by last-second TD pass to Diggs in playoffs against Saints dubbed “Minneapolis Miracle,” Vikings made sure Super Bowl window stayed open. Went all in on three-year, fully guaranteed $84 million contract to add Cousins to roster that was already one of most stacked in league. With recent big-buck extensions for Diggs, DE Danielle Hunter and LB Eric Kendricks, front office is keeping band together as long as possible under salary cap. Repeating last season’s record will be tough task, though, with OL uncertainty and stiffer schedule that includes road trips to face Rams, Eagles, Patriots and Seahawks. Plus, rival Packers have QB Aaron Rodgers back from injury.

John Ross got up to top speed, ran past a defender and caught Andy Dalton’s long pass in stride, drawing an ovation from the approximately 950 fans watching the first practice of Bengals camp.

A day later Tyson Barrie Jersey , he made another impressive catch on a deep throw and heard more applause.

Fans haven’t seen any of this since the Bengals made him their first overall pick last year.

The speedy receiver from Washington expected to show his big-play ability during his first season in Cincinnati. Instead, he missed most of camp while recovering from shoulder surgery and wound up playing in only three games.

He didn’t catch a pass and fumbled on a reverse – the only time he got the ball – before another shoulder injury ended his season.

As debuts go, it was about as bad as it gets. He was playing catch-up from the start because of his injury, and every mistake got magnified.

”It was everything,” Ross said. ”When one thing went wrong, six things went wrong. Not to make excuses, but it was so much more than me making one mistake on the field. I think it kind of beat me up mentally and took me away from my game.”

The Bengals are trying to dig out of one of the worst seasons offensively in franchise history. They finished last in the league in yards in 2017, a franchise first. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was given wide latitude to overhaul the playbook.

The offensive line has been revamped. Coach Marvin Lewis has said repeatedly that the offense needs to have more big plays this season, the kind they thought Ross would provide when they took him with the ninth overall pick in the draft.

Ross ran a record time of 4.22 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, and the Bengals envisioned him providing another deep threat to A.J. Green. Instead, Ross barely got on the field. He’s been healthy and making a good impression.

”I’ve kind of showed that I can relax and play the game I’m used to playing,” Ross said. ”Mentally, that was the toughest challenge for me last year. Being hurt kind of messed with me throughout the whole year. When you’re beat mentally, I don’t think you can really be yourself.”

Ross was still recovering from shoulder surgery when camp opened in 2017 and wasn’t cleared to practice at the outset. He wound up playing in only two preseason games and making one catch for 6 yards, his total contribution to the passing game last year.

He’s already way ahead of last year.

”John Ross has done things this offseason we saw at the University of Washington Kareem Martin Color Rush Jersey ,” said Duke Tobin, director of player personnel. ”We’re looking for him to take the next step.”

EIFERT BACK: Tight end Tyler Eifert was cleared to practice on Monday after working out on a side field the first four days of camp. Eifert was limited to two games last season before more back problems required another surgical procedure. He signed a one-year contract loaded with incentives.

Eifert mostly worked out with the backups on Monday. He made a couple of diving plays late in practice, drawing applause from fans.

”I could understand how it would be frustrating as fans, hearing, `Oh, he’s on (injury) list again or whatever,”’ Eifert said. ”But trust me, it’s 100 times more frustrating for me because all I want to do is be out there, and I’m doing literally everything I can, spending all my time trying to get back out there and stay out there with the guys.”

H-back Ryan Hewitt also was cleared to join practice, leaving only linebacker Vontaze Burfict yet to get approval to practice. Burfict is suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers.

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