One of the biggest winners of the offseason workouts across the NFL has been Ryan Flournoy. Not only is he starting to gain buzz among Cowboys fans, but you are starting to see more discussion from the national media when it comes to the No. 3 receiver in Dallas.
Flournoy had a fascinating 2025 season for many reasons, and it started with him being waived two days after making the initial 53-man roster. He was released in favor of offensive guard Trevor Keegan, but re-signed to the practice squad two days later after no one claimed him. The Cowboys finally signed him to the active roster in the middle of August and it’s a small miracle that another team didn’t swipe him up.
Heading into Year 3, there are some big expectations for Flournoy. But what exactly should we expect from Flournoy, and how can the Cowboys get him more involved in the offense? It might not be as hard as you would think.
Will the Dallas Cowboys get Ryan Flournoy more involved?
Flournoy played 479 snaps during the 2025 season, but it is worth noting that he played just 51 snaps in the first four weeks of the year. His snaps started to elevate after Week 5 while CeeDee Lamb was still out with an ankle injury. Against the Jets and Panthers (both games Lamb missed), we saw Flournoy play 72 snaps, and he caught nine passes for 144 yards.
But once Lamb returned to the field in Week 7, Flournoy played just 19 snaps against the Commanders and did not see a single target. The trend of limited production continued for the next month as Flournoy saw just nine targets from Weeks 7-13. It wasn’t until Week 14, when Lamb left with another injury against the Lions for Flournoy to see more snaps and targets (13 against Detroit).
If the following pattern continues into 2026, we shouldn’t expect Flournoy to see more than two targets a game when both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are on the field. However, it’s the same to assume that won’t be the case this year as Flournoy has earned the trust of the coaching staff and, maybe more importantly, Dak Prescott.
So, how do the Cowboys get Flournoy more involved? The obvious answer is to play more 11 personnel. In a recent article by ESPN, they wrote about how often each team used different personnel groupings and they found that no team in the NFL used 11 personnel more than Dallas. And maybe not-so-coincidently, no franchise in the league ran it better than Dallas:
“(Dallas) led the NFL with a 101.80 EPA on 11 personnel snaps, averaging 6.6 yards per play. Quarterback Dak Prescott helped the offense produce a league-best 206.7 passing yards per game; running back Javonte Williams and the team also saw high-level rushing production at a league-best 80.8 yards per game.”
The Cowboys ran 11 personnel on 66.43% of their offensive plays in 2025, which comes out to 744 snaps, according to Sumer Sports. Their next-highest personnel grouping was 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs) at 16.96%. Considering the growth and development of Flournoy, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Dallas use even more 11 personnel in 2026, so that they can get their best players on the field.
Even just raising the percentage of 11 personnel snaps up a few points could drastically change the number of snaps Flournoy is on the field. That would be one easy way to get him more involved in the offense. And with Lamb and Pickens likely to earn the more difficult matchups, it could also greatly impact his target share in the offense.
Another way to help Flournoy get on the field more often is to simply put him on the field more in 12 and 13 personnel groupings. Dallas ran over 300 plays last year with two or fewer receivers on the field in 2025. Giving more of those snaps to Flournoy instead of Lamb/Pickens wouldn’t be the worst idea.
Lamb has struggled with injuries over the last few years and has missed multiple games. Giving him a break during some early downs would not only keep him fresh for obvious passing downs but could help him stay on the field for the entirety of the 2026 season. That same can be said for Pickens, who is entering the year on a signed franchise tag.
This isn’t to say that Flournoy is better or even on par with those two players, but his development can take some of the pressure and workload off them during games. Even limiting their snaps by 5-7 plays a game could make a big difference over the course of the season.
The good news for Dallas is that they have a quarterback who can support three receivers in the passing game. Prescott is one of the best distributors in the league and will always prioritize finding the open man rather than just targeting one or two players relentlessly. If Flournoy can show that he can be a reliable and trusted target, he will certainly get opportunities from Prescott.
Flournoy will be involved in the offense, and a good comparison for him could be Michael Gallup in 2021, who averaged roughly seven targets per game despite being the No. 3 receiver behind Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Seven targets per game would be a lofty goal for Flournoy, but five? That seems much more plausible.
If Flournoy can maintain his efficiency (8.5 yards per target), he could easily surpass 600 yards as a No. 3 receiver in Dallas. And if Lamb/Pickens were to ever miss time, he could become a focal point of the offense in any given week.
The Cowboys are excited about the potential of Flournoy, and they should be. There are very few teams around the NFL with this type of talent at wide receiver. And if Flournoy can take the step that everyone anticipates, this could be one of the best wide receiver rooms in the team’s history. And that is saying something.
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