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Ryan Flournoy #80 of the Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys will entre this week’s minicamp with a hefty dose of uncertainty in the wide-receiver room, but with an underappreciated insurance policy in place. That’s because there is no doubt that Ryan Flournoy will be in place when practices begin on Tuesday, even as major questions continue to loom about whether star receiver George Pickens will show up.

You know the drill on Pickens–he has signed the franchise tag, a one-year deal worth $27.3 million, but after a 93-catch, 1,426-yard showing last season, he had hoped for more in a long-term deal. So, he’s not happy and could miss minicamp to express his disappointment.

But the question then would be whether Pickens tries to continue his holdout into camp. That’s a longshot–he is under contract, after all, and subject to fines if he sits out–but the Cowboys have developed a pretty good catch-all option for when either of its top receivers aren’t around. And that’s Flournoy.

Ryan Flournoy Had a Breakout in 2025

It could be argued that Flournoy has already head his breakout season. He was big over the course of 2025, finishing with 40 catches, 475 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He stepped up when CeeDee Lamb was down with injuries at varying times, logging 114 in Week 5, and nine catches with 115 yards and a touchdown in the wild Week 14 loss to Detroit. He pitched in four other games with at least three catches and 30 yards, ideal numbers for your No. 3 option.

More generally, Flournoy was easy to overlook as he edged his way up in the estimation of Cowboys coaches. After all, he was a 2024 sixth-rounder who had bounced through three colleges (Central Missouri State, Iowa Western, Southeastern Missouri State) before landing at The Star. But the Cowboys have had trouble filling not only the WR2 role that Pickens occupies, but the WR3 role.

Ryan Flournoy Passes ‘Eye Test’ for Cowboys

Flournoy could be in for bigger numbers, especially if Pickens takes a step backward–or if he is traded by the Cowboys this season, or walks in free agency next year. That’s the view from Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports, who identified the top 2026 breakout candidates on the offensive side (Cowboys center Cooper Beebe was among them).

Tice cited the “eye test” with Flournoy:

“The eye test points to a good-sized wideout who can play on the inside and outside. He is more than willing to do the dirty work as a power slot, but also showed the ability to win in one-on-one situations on the outside and the ability to make himself friendly to the quarterback. The consistent yards after the catch he creates are a nice bonus, too.”

Cowboys Should Not Count on George Pickens Replacement

But Tice has some numbers, too, to show that the Cowboys have reason to be excited about Flournoy going forward.

He writes: “Among 93 NFL wide receivers with 250 or more routes in 2025, Flournoy ranked 11th in first downs per route run, just below Drake London and Ja’Marr Chase and just above Rashee Rice, Keenan Allen and Nico Collins. He did a lot of his damage working underneath, as his route running still needs more polish on downfield routes, but there were moments of growth on more intricate routes as the season went along.”

Now, Tice also proposes that Flournoy could be a replacement, or at least a leverage point, when it comes to Pickens, and that might be a bit too far–Flournoy is in a comfortable role now, and moving him to No. 2 might be too much, too fast.