The Denver Broncos selected Kansas State offensive tackle Dalton Risner in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday evening. He’s expected to compete for the team’s starting right guard spot this summer.
Wait — a tackle playing guard? That’s right.
The Broncos haven’t given up on left tackle Garett Bolles and the team signed right tackle Ja’Wuan James during free agency. So Risner is expected to play inside, something he’s done before.
“I played center at Kansas State, I played center my whole life leading up to that and I played right tackle at Kansas State as well,” Risner said at his introductory press conference. “I had an offensive line coach that had me play guard throughout my career, had me play left tackle, left guard, right guard, kind of all over the place.
“It’s just something that I became comfortable with. I played a lot, and whenever you do that for five years in a row, just playing every position, it gives you the comfortability to move across the line. I feel like I have the size [6-5, 312 pounds] and measurables to do that as well.”
Risner’s versatility will likely come in handy during the season when injuries are inevitable.
“We’re excited to have him,” Broncos general manager John Elway said on Friday evening. “With his versatility, he can play tackle, we think he’ll make a really good guard also and he’s played some center. We think we got the best of both worlds with Dalton.”
After losing center Matt Paradis during free agency, Denver is expected to move Connor McGovern from right guard to center. That means the team’s expected offensive line will be Bolles, Ron Leary, McGovern, Risner and James. That’s a pretty good front five.
