2. Dalton Risner, guard
Every NFL team is starved for help on the offensive line, and the fact that good offensive linemen could still be signed after the NFL Draft is bordering on unheard of. Teams hoard offensive linemen like doomsday preppers hoard toilet paper, so it's shocking that someone who played as well as Dalton Risner did last season is still a free agent.
Risner pitched a complete shutout in pass protection last season, and even though he's not known for being the most dominant run blocker in the league, there is a place for this kind of production in someone's starting lineup:
Dalton Risner hasn't allowed a sack on 412 pass-blocking snaps for the Vikings this season 😤 pic.twitter.com/3OZERxwHza
— PFF MIN Vikings (@PFF_Vikings) January 3, 2024
Risner being unsigned last offseason was a storyline we were monitoring closely, because even though his time in Denver ended poorly, Risner was still a young player who had started every year in Denver. He was a second-round pick who played well enough that some were projecting him to sign a deal worth north of $10 million per season.
After pitching a shutout in pass protection last year with the Vikings, certainly Risner's value would be effectively rehabilitated and he would sign a big-money deal in free agency. Wrong, and don't call me Shirley.
All kidding aside, the fact that no one has signed Risner to this point in the offseason is staggering.