When CeeDee Lamb went down with a high ankle sprain, the expectation was that Jalen Tolbert would move into the second starting receiver spot.
With teams likely focusing on George Pickens, Tolbert should have had a field day. But that hasn’t been the case so far.
In five games, and four starts, Tolbert has 10 receptions on 19 targets for 101 yards. He has no rushing stats so far this season.
His best game of the year came two weeks ago against the Packers when he had four catches for 61 yards on six targets. Most of that came on Dak Prescott’s throw-up-a-prayer heave that Tolbert barely stayed in bounds on.
Tolbert saw only one target in Sunday’s win over the Jets, and he did not catch that pass.
The reason for Tolbert’s disappearing act? A sixth round draft pick from the 2024 Draft stepped up and stole the spotlight on Sunday.
He may not be giving it back any time soon either.
Getting His Chance
Ryan Flournoy, who played at three different schools in college before landing in Dallas last spring, had a very quiet rookie season.
He played in just 11 of the 17 games in 2024, starting only once. For the entire year, he had 10 catches on 14 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns.
In Sunday’s win over the Jets, Flournoy hauled in six of the nine passes thrown in his direction for 114 yards.
He added two carries for 10 yards in what is clearly his best game in Dallas.
The fact that in one game he surpassed all of Tolbert’s yardage for the entire season should mean he will continue to get more looks on the field.
Aside from Tolbert’s highlight reel catch against Green Bay, Flournoy looks to be outplaying Tolbert in many areas. Even when Lamb returns, Flournoy should be ahead of Tolbert on the depth chart.
Against the Bears, he caught two of his three targets for 21 yards.
In the Packers tie, he caught both targets for 14 yards and added a 12-yard run.
If Flournoy continues to develop and has a typical third-year breakout receiver in 2026, the Cowboys could have a lethal trio for years to come if they can retain Pickens beyond this season.
Protection For Turpin
Having Flournoy as a legitimate receiving threat would be most beneficial for KaVontae Turpin.
At 5-9, 153-pounds, saving Turpin for kickoff and punt returns is a premium. They could still run a handful of plays with Turpin at receiver.
But having him healthy and at full speed later in the season, and possibly the playoffs, rather than burn him up early makes much more sense.
Turpin is already banged-up, missing the Jets game and not guaranteed to be on the field in Carolina this Sunday either.
A productive Flournoy would pay off on offense and on special teams. It might just be that little extra edge to get Dallas back into postseason play in 2025.
