"Flo" saw his stock rise in 2025 as he had a breakout season, but now, as he looks to step up behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, is too much being expected of him?
The Dallas Cowboys' offense, as we head into OTAs, still appears to be one of the NFL's best as Dak Prescott and Co. will look to improve on last year's output.
With CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Jake Ferguson, and others, Brian Schottenheimer has all the tools needed to once again be one of the league's best.
But as we know, often it is the players lower on the depth chart that separate the elite teams from the good ones.
Yes, Dallas has Lamb and Pickens, but who is behind them?
And that's where Ryan Flournoy comes into the equation. Such was Flournoy's season in 2025 (40 rec, 475 yards, 4 TDs) that Dallas didn't even offer Jalen Tolbert a contract this offseason. They wanted Flournoy as WR3.
So, Flournoy has the chance to improve on last season's output and give Dak three genuine weapons in the passing game.
But as The Athletic's Jon Machota writes in answering questions from his mailbag, Flournoy, as the third receiver, is good, but issues a caution against fans thinking he can take Pickens' spot.
“I think Flournoy’s production is sustainable," Machota wrote. 'I think he’s a good No. 3 option. And that’s what the Cowboys need him to be when they already have CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and KaVontae Turpin.
“Where I would say pump the brakes is when I hear some say the Cowboys don’t need to re-sign Pickens because Flournoy can take on a bigger role. I think the No. 3 role is perfect for him.”
We saw last season the chemistry and trust built between Dak and Flo as the pair routinely connected on third down, with 29 of his 40 receptions going for first downs.
He's a chain-mover folks. And Dak trusts him on the "money" downs.
But at this stage of his career, I agree with Machota, he isn't at the level of being a consistent No. 2 weapon alongside CeeDee. Now could he be? I don't know, but moving on from Pickens and hoping he develops into that isn't the smart move.
Let's see what Flournoy can produce in 2026 first, as he played just 44 percent of the offensive snaps for Schottenheimer last year (Tolbert 51 percent).
So, I'd imagine he'll see an uptick in his snap count, which hopefully should see more production and less being needed from Lamb and Pickens.
Right now, Flo is almost an ideal third option, but anything more than that, and I think Dallas is asking for trouble.
