Broncos second-round draft pick Dalton Risner is penciled in to be the team’s starting left guard this season. He’s got a lot to learn before Denver’s season opener against the Raiders on Sept. 9 so he’s been picking the brains of his veteran teammates.
“I just think it is really important to realize that I have no experience in the NFL,” Risner said after practice on July 20. “Ron Leary has about eight years, Ja’Wuan James is one of the highest-paid right tackles in the NFL, Connor McGovern been in here for four years and Garett [Bolles] was a first-round pick two years ago.
“I am surrounded by a lot of guys that have played in the NFL for a while. I might as well soak as much of that up as I can. I think the great offensive linemen are the ones that can always get better and realize that they can always get better. That’s my big thing. I want to soak in as much as I can from those guys, and I learn from them constantly.”
Risner (6-5, 312 pounds) plays the same position as Leary, just on a different side of the offensive line. He’s taken advantage of every opportunity to learn from the more experienced Leary.
“I’m sure Ron will tell you sometime, he probably gets sick of the questions, but I ask questions constantly,” Risner said. “I’m going to abuse that. He tells me to ask a question and I’m just going to continue to ask him because I look up to those guys.”
Leary actually doesn’t mind the questions at all because he knows they are a sign that his rookie teammate is trying to learn.
“He wants to be great,” Leary said on July 19. “I say that every time somebody asks me about him. He works his butt off every day, he asks questions and he’s humble with it.
“A lot of young cats these days when they get drafted, they’re higher. They think that their stuff doesn’t stink. But he’s not like that at all, real humble kid who just wants to work. That’s really all you can ask for.”
So far, so good for the Kansas State product.
