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Ryan Flournoy #19 of the Dallas Cowboys

Amid the excitement of the high-powered offense that the Dallas Cowboys could float during this upcoming 2026 NFL season, with Dak Prescott under center and two of the league’s top receivers–CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens–on the perimeter, one player has pretty well been lost in the shuffle. That’s Ryan Flournoy, who was an effective bit of glue that helped hold the offense together at times last season, and the kind of No. 3 wide receiver the team simply has not had in recent years.

Flournoy was everything you’d want from a WR3 in 2025. He was effective in his role when he was getting limited snaps, but made defenses pay when they gave too much attention to Lamb and Pickens. Flournoy caught 40 passes on 53 targets, and according to Pro Football Focus, the average depth of those targets was 9.8 yards. He had only one drop on the season.

Flournoy was an excellent blocker in 2025, and tallied 475 yards of receiving–201 of which was after the catch. PFF rated him the No. 15 receiver in the NFL–after years of Jalen Tolbert and Michael Gallup, the Cowboys had one of the best WR3s in the league.

George Pickens Cowboys Future in Question

What was critical for the Cowboys, and what could affect Pickens going forward is the production that Flournoy gave the team after Lamb was injured. In those times when Flournoy had to step into a WR2 role, he delivered–he had six catches for 114 yards in Week 3, and nine catches for 115 yards in Week 14, after Lamb suffered a concussion early in the game.

There is uncertainty, of course, about the future of Pickens in Dallas after the Cowboys opted to give him the franchise tag contract of one year and $27 million. Pickens will be a free agent again next year and could come back on a new deal, on on a second, $30 million one-year tag. But perhaps continued growth from Flournoy will change that.

Ryan Flournoy Could Replace George Pickens

That’s the view from the USA Today site Cowboys Wire, which notes that Flournoy is not going to overtake Pickens in the coming season, but by the end of the year, the Cowboys could be considerably more comfortable moving Flournoy up to No. 2 on the depth chart while letting Pickens walk in free agency.

From the site: At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Flournoy is built to play any role across the formation. Size, speed and athletic ability indicate WR2 potential is well within his grasp. He’s obviously not going to supplant Pickens in 2026, but a breakout season this year may very well make Pickens expendable in 2027.

Cowboys Could Rebalance Roster With Ryan Flournoy Contract

The obvious advantage for the Cowboys there is a rebalancing of the payroll, where the team would not have to commit something like $35-40 million per year to Pickens while also paying Lamb $34 million per year. In a league in which the cap is expected to be around $320 million next year, giving two receivers near a quarter of the payroll is tricky business.

Pickens could, with another year like he had in 2025 (1,426 yards, 93 catches), price himself out of the Cowboys’ plans. But continued progress from Flournoy–who will be extension eligible but in need of a much smaller payout–could change the way the Cowboys view the problem of letting Flournoy go.