Risner's elite pass protection revitalized the Bengals' offensive line.
The Cincinnati Bengals finished the 2025 season with a disappointing 6-11 record after their defense gave up 492 points and Joe Burrow missed nine games with a turf toe injury.
But while so much went wrong, the offensive line quietly became one of the best stories of the year, and veteran guard Dalton Risner was a big reason why.
Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the third straight season and posted its first losing record since 2020, which means there are plenty of problems to fix this offseason.
The defense was the biggest issue all year long, but the front office also has to make sure it does not lose the good things it built on offense, starting with the offensive line that took a major leap forward under first-year line coach Scott Peters.
Risner Was Cincinnati's Best Signing
Risner signed a one-year deal worth just $1.34 million right before the regular season kicked off in late August.
He ended up playing 767 total snaps across both left and right guard while allowing just two sacks and 17 pressures on 503 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
The former second-round pick out of Kansas State was named the Bengals' best signing of the entire 2025 offseason by PFF, and it is hard to argue with that when you look at what he brought to the table on such a small deal.
His impact really showed up once he locked in as the full-time starter at right guard from Week 11 on after replacing the injured rookie Jalen Rivers, and he never looked back from that point forward.
During the final seven games of the season, Risner was one of the best pass-protecting guards in the entire league, giving up just nine pressures across 297 pass-blocking snaps in that stretch.
The offensive line as a whole finished seventh in Pro Football Sports Network's final rankings with a 79.7 overall grade.
The O-Line Finally Came Together
For the first time since Burrow entered the NFL, the Bengals had an offensive line group that actually looked like a real strength, with Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle, rookie Dylan Fairchild growing into his role at left guard, Ted Karras holding things down at center, Risner locking in at right guard.
Second-year tackle Amarius Mims also continues to develop on the right side.
The Bengals put up 4,244 passing yards and 1,591 rushing yards on the season, and while Burrow's absence for a big chunk of the year held back the ceiling of the offense, the line consistently did its job when called upon.
Cincinnati's unit ranked second in PFF's Pass Blocking Efficiency score, which is a huge jump from the year before when no team's guards earned a lower PFF pass-blocking grade than the Bengals' 42.6 mark in 2024.
Risner Wants to Stay
Maybe the best part about this whole situation is that Risner has been very open about wanting to come back to Cincinnati, telling FOX19's Charlie Goldsmith that he has found a home in the Queen City and that he would love it if the Bengals did not let him get to free agency in March.
Right tackle Amarius Mims went as far as calling Risner one of the best right guards in the NFL while telling reporters it should be a no-brainer to bring him back.
That kind of support from a teammate who played next to him every week says a lot about his impact on and off the field.
Spotrac projects his market value at around $2.4 million per year while PFF puts it closer to $4.5 million, which means the Bengals should be able to bring him back on a deal that works for both sides without breaking the bank.
Don't Let Him Walk
The Bengals have over $57 million in projected cap space and a long list of needs on defense, but letting Risner walk after one of the best offensive line seasons in recent memory would be a step in the wrong direction for a team that finally found the right group up front.
Re-signing him would give Cincinnati something it has not had in a long time, which is full starting offensive line continuity heading into the offseason program with all five starters returning for 2026.
After years of shuffling guards in and out and watching Burrow take hit after hit behind shaky protection, the Bengals finally found a group that works.
It would be foolish to let that fall apart over what should be one of the easiest and most affordable deals of the entire offseason.