Saturday open thread: Which NFC North team poses the biggest threat to the Detroit Lions?

This week, we began our look at positional rankings in the NFC North. Thus far, we’ve ranked the Lions second in quarterbacks (behind the Packers) and third in running backs (behind the Bears and Vikings). It’s an interesting look at the personnel for each divisional rival, and even already we’ve seen that each team has talent somewhere on the roster.

But now it’s time to look at the big picture. The Detroit Lions may be in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, and there’s an argument to be made that every team legitimately got better this offseason. The Vikings are trying to make a return to the NFC Championship game, the Packers currently have a healthy Aaron Rodgers, and the Bears are almost universally lauded as one of the most improved teams this offseason, especially due to their coaching change.

The Lions aren’t in a bad position themselves, coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time 1995 while also adding a new set of coaches. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which NFC North team poses the biggest threat to the Lions?

My answer: This is a fairly easy question for me. There is only one team in the division right now that looks to be pretty balanced on both sides of the ball: the Minnesota Vikings. Their defense is loaded with talent from front to back, and their offense remains seriously underrated. Though we haven’t seen Kirk Cousins in the Vikings offense yet, he’s taking over a unit that ranked 10th in scoring, 11th in yardage and fifth in DVOA last season. Add in a healthy Dalvin Cook and you’ve got yourself not only a divisional contender, but a serious conference champion contender.

The good news for the Lions is that they’ve been pretty successful against their own division as of late. They were 5-1 in the division last season, and have a record of 20-10 against NFC North opponents since 2013.

But who poses the biggest threat this year? Your turn to answer: