Dalton Risner (Broncos OG) -- 2024 Free Agent

[eaglesfan0075]

I liked Dalton Risner as a prospect coming out of Kansas State in the 2019 Draft. The Broncos recently went in a different direction with their offensive line in free agency and ended up signing Ben Powers, formerly of the Ravens, to replace Risner at LG. 

While Risner is a little bit of a downgrade from Isaac Seumalo, who signed with the Steelers in free agency, he is still a solid starting guard that can provide us with insurance in case the Cam Jurgens versus Tyler Steen battle does not yield us a viable starting RG for this season. 

In an ideal situation, Jurgens is allowed to focus on center, given his size profile and the fact that he was handpicked to be Kelce's successor. Tyler Steen has the size profile we want from a RG, but it's still asking a lot of him as a rookie to transition from LT to RG in the NFL, especially since he was exclusively a tackle at Vanderbilt and Alabama, never having played guard in college, but showed promise at the Senior Bowl as a guard.

 

PFF overall grades for Dalton Risner since he was drafted in 2019:

2019: 64.4 (975 snaps played, 3 penalties, 3 sacks allowed)

2020: 61.3 (999 snaps played, no penalties or sacks allowed)

2021: 68.5 (832 snaps played, 2 penalties, 4 sacks allowed)

2022: 61.1 (967 snaps played, 1 penalty, 3 sacks allowed)

 

PFF overall grades for Isaac Seumalo since he was drafted in 2016:

2016: 70.6 (336 snaps played, 2 penalties, 2 sacks allowed)

2017: 42.7 (285 snaps played, 2 penalties, 6 sacks allowed)

2018: 68.1 (548 snaps played, 2 penalties, 1 sack allowed)

2019: 69.6 (1162 snaps played, 5 penalties, 5 sacks allowed)

2020: 62.4 (588 snaps played, 2 penalties, 4 sacks allowed)

2021: 74.8 (168 snaps played, 3 penalties, no sacks allowed)

2022: 75.2 (1135 snaps played, 6 penalties, 1 sack allowed)

 

The run and pass blocking grades are hidden behind a paywall on PFF, but if you look at the trend for what's posted above, Dalton Risner has consistently played close to 1000 starting snaps each year since getting drafted, with no PFF grade lower than 61. Under Coach Stoutland, he could potentially be even better, and even if he's maxed out his potential, he's still a solid starting guard.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

Isn't Risner the dude who wanted to fight the back up QB on the sidelines because he said the O-line needed to be helping Russell Wilson get up after sacks / hits?

[eaglesfan0075]

1 hour ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

Isn't Risner the dude who wanted to fight the back up QB on the sidelines because he said the O-line needed to be helping Russell Wilson get up after sacks / hits?

I actually had to look this up myself, did not recall this incident, but yes it looks like they had a sideline skirmish during the Christmas game. Appears to be more a one time bizarre occurrence than a chronic issue though, from the article.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/broncos-bizarre-sideline-skirmish-between-dalton-risner-and-brett-rypien-was-due-to-miscommunication/

I would imagine being on a winning team would help alleviate most problems. He's likely the best OG available right now in free agency and is a proven starter.