The Dallas Cowboys already have the NFL’s best wide receiver duo with All-Pros George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. What’s not mentioned as much is that they might have the NFL’s best wide receiver trio when you toss Ryan Flournoy in the mix.
Flournoy, a 2024 6th-round pick (No. 216 overall), had a mini-breakout season in 2025 with 40 receptions for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns in just 4 starts while taking a backseat to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert.
With Tolbert out the door to the Miami Dolphins in free agency, that role seems like it’s now Flournoy’s to occupy.
“RYAN FLOURNOY IS OFFICIALLY WR 3 FOR THE DALLAS COWBOYS,” Dallas Cowboys Plug wrote on its official X account. “FLO GANGGGGG”
Flournoy could also be setting himself up for a massive payday in a few years and compares favorably to wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who just signed a 1-year, $8 million free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings worth up to $13 million with incentives.
Flournoy Called ‘Secret Superstar’ in 2025
While the Cowboys went 7-9-1 in 2025 and missed the playoffs, it wasn’t because of their offense, which was arguably the NFL’s best offense in 2025.
That offense had so many weapons that it’s kind of incredible Flournoy was able to make the impact he did — in any pecking order he was behind Lamb and Pickens, tight end Jake Ferguson and running back Javonte Williams in terms of who gets the ball first. Add Tolbert in the mix and what Flournoy accomplished is even more impressive.
Pro Football Focus thought enough of Flournoy’s sophomore campaign to call him one of the NFL’s “Secret Superstar” players.
“Hiding in plain sight on a dynamic Cowboys offense, Flournoy posted an 80.3 PFF overall grade as the unit’s third-highest-graded player,” PFF’s Zach Tantillo wrote. “He brought in 40 of his 42 catchable targets and led Dallas in touchdown receptions from Weeks 9 through 18. Despite limited snaps, Flournoy ranked fourth on the Cowboys’ offense in PFF Wins Above Replacement.”
Flournoy’s Unusual Path to NFL Roster
Flournoy, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, took a circuitous path to becoming the Cowboys’ sixth round pick (No. 216 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft — one which included 6 years of college football at 3 different schools.
The Flossmoor, Illinois, native started his college career with 3 seasons at NCAA Division II Central Missouri. It was also 3 seasons in which he essentially never played in actual games.
Flournoy redshirted in 2018, missed almost all of 2019 with a partially torn ACL, and missed the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic.
All of that precipitated a transfer to junior college football powerhouse Iowa Western for 1 season in 2021, and came away with exactly 1 Division I offer from FCS Southeast Missouri State. That’s where Flournoy finally came into his own, earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors each of his 2 seasons before becoming the first SEMS player in the Senior Bowl since 1998.
Flournoy cemented his draft status at the NFL scouting combine, where he put up big-time numbers: 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash to go with a 40-inch vertical leap, 11-foot broad jump, and 19 reps in the 225-pound bench press.
Want another wild stat? Flournoy, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, was only 5-foot-3 and 99 pounds when he started playing high school football.
“We had this meeting, and the coach asked the whole room, ‘Does anybody want to play college football?’ Of course, everybody raised their hand,” Flournoy said. “He pointed me out and was like, ‘But your side is unlikely.’ I’m not, you know, being harsh on you. I’m just being realistic. My heart went to my stomach. For that, like, moment forward, like, I’m like, ‘Nobody can tell me what I can’t do because I’m the only person on that team in the field.’ “
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