Most of the discussion around the Dallas Cowboys this offseason will undoubtedly be centered around their wide receivers room and, specifically, what owner Jerry Jones decides to do with NFL All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens.
What the Cowboys decide to do with Pickens — long-term deal or franchise tag — could very well define their season. Give Pickens the deal he wants and everything goes smoothly. Hit him the franchise tag and the Cowboys are asking for chaos.
With the Cowboys, when given the choice between the easy path and chaos, it’s smart to always bet on chaos.
If that’s the outcome, then all might not actually lost at wide receiver, where they still have another NFL All-Pro in CeeDee Lamb and now have another player who has shown he can be a legitimate WR2 in 2024 sixth round pick Ryan Flournoy.
PFF Calls Ryan Flournoy ‘Secret Superstar’
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’s behind Lamb and Pickens, tight end Jake Ferguson and running back Javonte Williams in terms of who gets the ball first.
Still, Flournoy had 40 receptions for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a pair of 100-yard receiving games — a massive leap after 10 receptions for 102 yards and no touchdowns as a rookie in 2024.
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 Stardom
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 — which were 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.
Turned FCS Opportunity Into Pro Career
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 to play 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.
Former Sixth Round Pick Called ‘Secret Superstar’ for Cowboys