Dallas Cowboys’ Ryan Flournoy Set for a Bigger Role and a Breakout Season in 2026

You didn’t notice Ryan Flournoy right away when you watched the Cowboys last season. Everyone’s eyes went to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, that’s where the attention is, and it’s warranted.

If you stayed around for a few drives later in the season, you would have started to notice something, the space that keeps showing up between the numbers.

That space doesn’t happen without the superstars outside. It was created due to the respect shown to Lamb and Pickens, and Flournoy found a way to exploit it late in the season.

The Offense Creates Opportunities Without Force

This wasn’t the old Cowboys offense where Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb dominated every offensive snap. It was much more balanced, and because of that, it’s tougher to defend over four quarters.

Pickens forces you to stay honest, while Lamb takes care of the underneath, but if you’re sleeping he will get deep.

That combination alone keeps defenses from sitting on routes, and you see constant adjustments, rolling coverage, shifting leverage, just trying to take something away.

With every adjustment, the unsung wide receiver starts to expose the defense.

Ryan Flournoy finds a way to get open. He may not be the first option or the second option, but he doesn’t have to be.

Flournoy is the player who benefits when everything else is working.

Ryan Flournoy’s Stats Tell a Quieter Story

If you look at his numbers from last season, nothing jumps out:

40 catches

475 yards

4 touchdowns

Ryan Flournoy doesn’t need a heavy workload to stay involved. When the ball came his way, he caught it and that’s all you could ask for.

The other part of this equation that will come to fruition next season is that Flournoy will not be fighting with Jalen Tolbert for snaps.

Tolbert is now in Miami and Flournoy has a hold on the third receiver spot. Ryan Flournoy is now ready to take more of the offense, and he has earned it.

All you want from a third receiver is to make the catches thrown your way, be reliable. He won’t disrupt the offense, but he will keep the chains moving.

Not Every Role is About Chasing the Big Numbers

As a fan, it’s easy to look at the receivers and judge them off of catches and yards, but that’s not always how impact shows up in a game.

Sometimes, it’s a big third-down catch that keeps a drive alive. Or finding a soft spot in the defense when they are locked on to the superstars. Just being in the right place at the right time is where Flournoy will thrive.

We may not see highlight reel type plays, but good plays stack as the season progresses. A balanced offense is what matters, not constant big-play drives.

The Ryan Flournoy Stats Projection for 2026

Ryan Flournoy’s stat projection for 2026 isn’t complicated.

He’s not going to be a Pro-Bowl player who is force-fed targets, and he doesn’t need to be. The catches are going to come naturally as the offense moves through its progressions.

A realistic range could look like this:

50–60 catches

About 700 yards

4–6 touchdowns

Not flashy, but consistent, and that is exactly what this type of offense needs from Ryan Flournoy.

A Role that Grows On You Over a Season

I don’t need Ryan Flournoy to carry this offense, that is what the heavy hitters on the outside are for.

With all that attention going elsewhere, Flournoy just has to be ready when the opportunity comes. If the offense is doing what it’s supposed to be doing in 2026, chances are going to be there.

It won’t be every drive, maybe not even every quarter, but enough to matter.

We all know that sometimes the difference between a win and loss isn’t the player everyone is watching.

It’s the one who shows up when nobody else is.