Dalton Risner Says Russell Wilson Better Than Advertised, Broncos Have Already Installed Entire Offense
(CBS SPORTS) - The Denver Broncos were one of the big winners of the NFL offseason, and you can feel the excitement in the Mile High City. Ever since the days of Peyton Manning, the Broncos have struggled to field a legitimate starting quarterback. This season, that will change, as Denver traded for Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson.
While we are just in June, Wilson has already made his mark on his new team. This week, starting offensive guard Dalton Risner appeared on Xfinity Monday Live to discuss the upcoming season with Michael Spencer. He said that Wilson has been better than advertised, not only as a quarterback, but as a leader and teammate.
"It's been a privilege to get to know this man, No. 3. And I'm not just talking about the way he throws the football, the way he directs the huddle, the leader he is," Risner said. "But the man of God that this dude is, the way he treats his teammates, the amount of humility and the humbleness that this man has is extraordinary, and I'm one that when I hear a lot of hype around people I like to really watch those people, but man, this dude is the real deal, he's going to be great for our football team, he's already been great for me and great for a lot of other teammates so I'm honestly very excited to have him."
Wilson has been charged with getting the most out of this talented roster. When you look at the offense, the veteran is receiving upgrades virtually everywhere. He has a solid offensive line, a young wide receiving corps ready to break out, two tight ends worth getting excited about in Albert Okwuegbunam and rookie Greg Dulcich and then two legitimate starting running backs with Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon.
If first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett does it right, this could be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. Surprisingly, he has already installed his entire system.
"We've already installed the whole offense," said Risner. "Throughout OTAs, we just got through all the installations by today, so we have it in. Now it's time to, 'OK, let's not just work on these select plays throughout the day, let's work on this huge, huge playbook.' This offense man, I think in football, sometimes we get a little bit overzealous and we act like things are a lot different, but this is going to be a new offense, man. I feel like in my three years, when we went from (Rich) Scangarello to Pat Shurmur, we kind of thought there'd be this great divide and a great brand new offense, but really, I've seen a lot more of a difference from this year from last year."
Risner says you can expect some outside zone running, a clear emphasis on utilizing all weapons and then of course allowing Wilson to work the way he wants to. There's real reason for optimism in Denver in 2022, even with the Broncos residing in a tough division.
