Broncos G Dalton Risner wants to 'dominate' in Year 2

Dalton Risner had a solid start to his NFL career, at least to everyone but him.

Risner made the Pro Football Writers Association's All-Rookie Team in 2019, going from a second-round pick to one of the best of his class. That's not enough for the former Kansas State standout.

"I am not proud of that honor. People bring it up, and I try not to be rude. That's not what I am after," Risner told Denver 7's Troy Renck. "I want to just dominate. I thought I had a good year, but (bleep) Troy, I wasn't All-Pro. I wasn't in the Pro Bowl. That's not cool with me," "By no means did I dominate every single game. That's what I want to do -- put guys in the ground. I want to be an All-Pro for the Broncos. I don't want to play for anyone else. I want to be an All-Pro 10-plus years here. Some might say that's too lofty, but that's what I am after. I am not going to be satisfied until I am there."

If recent history proves to be the rule, Risner is on his way. The 2014 All-Rookie Team featured Zack Martin and Joel Bitonio at guard. Both have since been named All-Pros and have made the Pro Bowl since then, and are considered among the league's best interior linemen.

There is some room to make up, though. Since offensive line isn't exactly a position you can track with easily understandable statistics, we turn to Pro Football Focus, which gives us a yearly overall performance grade. Risner ranked as the league's No. 29 guard this season, just behind the likes of Andrew Norwell and Joe Dahl and slightly ahead of Ereck Flowers and Trai Turner. It's not a bad spot for a rookie, but he'll need to improve to get on the same track as that of a Martin or Bitonio.

Those two rock-solid blockers posted grades of 86.2 and 79.3 in their first seasons, and Martin has consistently stayed in that range throughout his career. Bitonio surprisingly enjoyed his best year as a rookie, though that was also Cleveland's best year in a half-decade filled with forgettable Sundays.

Team performance has something to do with it, so if the Broncos can fully determine Drew Lock is their guy and then solidify the rest of their offense from there, we should expect that grade to go up. Risner seems to think so, too.

"I think he has taken his offseason seriously. I know that Drew works hard, and I know he is passionate about his craft," Risner said. "I think he's the right guy to lead this organization and I am willing to stand by that whether I am right or wrong. I am sold that I am going to be right by that."

As for the domination and all that good stuff, well, we won't know until the ball is snapped.