Underrated Label Doesn't Fit Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver Ryan Flournoy

An analyst as called Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy underrated. Here's why that label doesn't really fit.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys have one of the best one-two punches at the wide receiver position in the NFL going into the 2026 campaign in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Unfortunately, teams can't just play two receivers, which means Dallas needs someone to step up into the WR3 role in 2026.

Far and away the best option to do that is Ryan Flournoy, who NFL analyst John Frascella labeled as the Cowboys' most underrated player.

Flournoy is part of a group behind Lamb and Pickens that has no shortage of questions to answer.

Is Ryan Flournoy underrated?

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Frascella picking Flournoy as Dallas' most underrated player might be a matter of the Cowboys not having a lot of great candidates for that label more than anything else.

Flournoy is viewed how he should be already, which is as a promising but unproven player.

A 2024 sixth-round pick, Flournoy showed flashes with 475 yards and four touchdowns, which is made more impressive by the fact he was operating behind Lamb and Pickens.

But his sample size remains small with just 27 career games, and we have to wonder if Flournoy's numbers would've taken a dip if Lamb had played in all 17 contests last season.

Ryan Flournoy pic.twitter.com/ANwG0cfc2S

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) April 28, 2026

Flournoy's second-best game came in Week 5, when Lamb was out, but he also had his best showing in Week 14, when Lamb posted a season-high 121 yards.

Nobody is really sleeping on Flournoy, but he isn't exactly a hype train set to leave the station, either.

Ryan Flournoy's 2026 outlook

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Flournoy is the favorite to be the No. 3 wide receiver behind Lamb and Pickens in 2026. That's a result of his 2025 production and the fact that the Cowboys don't have much competition for him.

Competing against Flournoy are Jonathan Mingo, Parris Campbell, KaVontae Turpin, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tyler Johnson, Traeshon Holden and seventh-round pick Anthony Smith.

Mingo has been wildly disappointing since the Cowboys overpaid for him in a trade in 2024, and the rest of those guys will be lucky to make the roster, let alone grab a significant role. The job is Flournoy's to lose, plain and simple.

The biggest threat to Flournoy's role is the Cowboys bringing in a more relevant veteran receiver, of which there are some available on the open market. However, there hasn't been any indication Dallas is going to do that.

When it comes to where Flournoy is going to line up, we saw the Cowboys utilize the third-year wideout, Lamb and Pickens all over the place in 2025, so don't go chiseling any of their names at one specific spot.

That said, Pickens saw the fewest snaps of the trio in the slot, so Flournoy will like spend most of his time rotating with Lamb between the boundary and slot in 2026.