That approach comes not just from the territory of his role as a brawling lineman, but perhaps with the territory of his small hometown, located about an hour away from Denver. And with that, there was always a hope that he could stay in his home state and bring his skills and tenacity to his favorite NFL team.

"In the back of my mind, I said, 'No matter what, I feel safe that the Broncos are at 41. No matter how the draft goes. If I go first round, that's great, but the fact that the Broncos are at 41, I felt like they wouldn't pass on me,'" Risner recalled. "And I'm just so thankful that they didn't. That shows their appreciation for me and how much I appreciate them. If I could go back right now and choose to be a 20th draft pick or 21st draft pick to the Seahawks, whatever it was, I'd choose 41 to the Broncos every day. … I'm happy to be a part of this."

So was his family, which rolled seven peopledeep to accompany him to UCHealth Training Center and wrote "#LeagueBound" on one of the windows of his truck, which is already parked in the players' parking lot.

"I think it means a lot to them," Risner said. "They were obviously bawling. There's a lot of happy tears, tears of joy. Just to be an hour down the road, I think, is a God thing. That's something bigger at play. I don't think that's just luck. I don't just think that's how things pan out. That was God's plan, and I'm so excited to see how God's going to work through me in Denver: the impact I can have on the football team, and the impact that I can have on the community."