Dalton Risner Sees a Message Sent to the NFL

Jon Gruden is a fan, so much so that he was willing to pass along a message to the NFL.

In a social media post, Dalton Risner appears alongside the former NFL head coach. Gruden, as per usual, is outspoken and enthusiastic. He leans into those character traits to pass along a message for people employed in the NFL: send a contract over to Risner.

Dalton Risner, Jon Gruden, and The NFL Message

With a 68.1 grade for his 611 snaps on offense, Dalton Risner finished off as PFF’s 22nd-best guard.

A quick look under the hood points toward someone more capable of helping the passing game than the running game. He earned a beefy 76.1 grade for his pass protection but an underwhelming 58.8 grade as a run blocker. A team that really leans on the passing game may therefore be more interested in the veteran lineman.

Recently, Risner’s social media was used to promote the guard. More specifically, the lineman stands alongside former NFL head coach Jon Gruden. Gruden supports Risner, pushing the league’s teams to make a move for the veteran: “Hey, Risner’s a free agent. Any of you coaches or GMs out there, sign the guy. Want a tough, hard-nosed guard? He can play both sides and I bet he can play center.”

“Sign him,” Gruden insists before the video ends.

There’s a separate social media clip from back at the Senior Bowl of the lineman doing well in a rep. Note that the video shows Risner offering a sturdy rep as a tackle, a reminder of his college position. He has now shifted to becoming an NFL guard, proving capable of being on either the left or right side after supplanting Ed Ingram in the 2024 season.

In fact, one of the moments when Risner is alongside Gruden involves the lineman insisting he can play basically any of the front five positions.

Dalton Risner plays with excellent energy, working until the whistle is blown. Proving capable of jumping into the right guard spot increases his value, as Gruden suggests. One would think that there’s a team out there that would benefit from adding Mr. Risner.

Consecutive years have involved the guard playing for modest money. Risner commanded a $2,625,000 cap charge in 2023. In 2024, the number shrunk down to $2,410,000. Seeing him get a boatload more than those numbers would qualify as a bit of a surprise given that the offseason is soon to get into training camp and the preseason.

Meanwhile, Minnesota is moving ahead with what appears to be a formidable front five. Assuming good health, the Vikings’ o-line will consists of LT Christian Darrisaw, LG Donovan Jackson, C Ryan Kelly, RG Will Fries, and RT Brian O’Neill. J.J. McCarthy should therefore be operating behind a great set of protectors as he tries to elevate the Vikings as a sophomore starter.

Dalton Risner, 30 on July 13th, stands at 6’5″ and weighs 312 pounds. He was chosen at No. 41 back in the 2019 NFL Draft after a college career at Kansas State.

His initial four seasons involved putting in work for the Broncos before becoming a Viking.