Everyone seems to be effectively conscious of the star energy the Dallas Cowboys have on the prime of their huge receiver place group with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, however do you know the crew has a reasonably good WR3 possibility? And no, we’re not speaking about All-Professional return specialist, KaVontae Turpin. This receiver has quietly inserted himself into the offensive image with sheer grit and a willingness to do no matter it takes to assist the crew. We’re speaking about Ryan Flournoy.
His journey to Dallas began within the sixth spherical of the 2024 draft, the place the Cowboys snagged him out of Southeast Missouri State. He was the 216th decide general, a spot often reserved for guys with little to no likelihood to make the crew. He was an older prospect who spent six years in school, but nonetheless lacked refined route-running expertise. Add that to his small faculty competitors, and he was basically an afterthought within the draft.
The Cowboys noticed issues a bit of in a different way. Flournoy possessed elite athletic traits. His uncooked bodily instruments had been unattainable to disregard. He had the quickest GPS time within the receiving drills on the NFL mix that yr, and was one of many only a few non-FBS gamers invited to the Senior Bowl, the place he proved he may compete with top-tier expertise. The Cowboys’ scouting division felt there was one thing to work with.
His rookie marketing campaign was a lesson in endurance and seizing the second. Early on, he spent loads of time studying the ropes and adjusting to the tempo of the skilled recreation, however he shortly earned the teaching workers’s belief. He primarily served as a dependable depth possibility and a rotational piece, but he flashed sufficient potential throughout his restricted snaps to show he belonged. These small home windows of manufacturing had been the primary indicators that the Cowboys might need discovered a late-round contributor.
By the point 2025 rolled round, many had excessive hopes that he would construct off of his rookie season flashes and string collectively a stable second season. Whereas that’s precisely what occurred, it didn’t go easily for him. After initially making the 53-man roster, he was minimize to make room for a participant the Cowboys claimed from one other crew. Thankfully, he cleared waivers and was instantly added to the observe squad.
Initially, he was elevated from the observe squad to solely contribute on particular groups, however he was shortly added to the energetic roster early within the yr. He performed sparingly on offense over the primary month of the season, however had a breakout recreation within the first week of October after Lamb obtained harm early within the recreation in opposition to the New York Jets. His pace and massive palms made him a dependable chain-mover and an enormous playmaker, proving he can present up in a wide range of methods. Flournoy racked up six catches for 114 yards, demonstrating he may very well be a viable receiving weapon if given the chance.
Huge video games like that had been few and much between final yr, because the Lamb/Pickens combo commanded a lot of the targets. Flournoy had a couple of extra good video games down the stretch, together with a career-high nine-catch, 115-yard efficiency in opposition to the Detroit Lions. He completed the season with 40 catches for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Past his receiving stats, he turned a complete demon on particular groups, flying down the sector to make tackles and exhibiting a willingness to do the soiled work that almost all receivers keep away from. That blue-collar versatility turned him from a curiosity right into a fixture of the weekly recreation plan.
Heading into this yr, the entrance workplace determined to play it fairly quiet within the receiver room. They introduced in free brokers Parris Campbell and Marquez Valdez-Scantling on low-cost offers. Each of them have had 600-yard seasons, however that was again in 2022, so neither of those strikes generates any pleasure. Additionally they drafted a brand new rookie in Anthony Smith within the seventh spherical final month. Whereas there’s a slight trace of veteran competitors and a whiff of recent automotive scent, none of those gamers appears poised to truly kick Flournoy out of his present seat. The crew appears completely content material seeing what he can do in yr three.
The crew additionally has KaVontae Turpin, who stays an electrical returner, however he has struggled to evolve right into a constant every-down risk within the passing recreation. After which there’s that Jonathan Mingo man, who has sadly been a complete lot of nothing since arriving in Dallas, all however exhausting any remaining hope that he delivers on his fourth-round decide commerce value. Collectively, Flournoy has little or no competitors to dethrone him from his WR3 function on this Cowboys offense.
As we glance towards the upcoming season, Flournoy is sitting within the driver’s seat for that WR3 job. He has dodged any large free agent acquisitions, survived the draft, and has already proven he can ship outcomes on this offense. Along with his mix of bodily toughness and spurts of greatness, there may be each motive to consider he’ll proceed to extend his offensive numbers. Get able to see much more of the child from Southeast Missouri as a result of he’s simply getting began.
