Ryan Flournoy’s rise with the Dallas Cowboys has been anything but tidy—starting with a preseason fumble after a 2024 sixth-round pick—before he earned a career-best 2025 season and now insists he knows exactly where he fits.
Ryan Flournoy’s preseason debut didn’t go the way a breakout story usually does. In a game that followed the Cowboys making him a sixth-round pick in 2024, he made two catches for 8 yards and fumbled.
But the season that came after that fumble told a different story. Flournoy earned the Cowboys’ No. 3 job at wide receiver and turned it into a run of production that included career highs in receiving yards (407). receptions (35) and touchdowns (four) last season. When the offseason arrived. he carried the confidence from that role straight into this season’s expectations—especially as he works behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
“ It definitely had a big impact on it. just because I know I belong. ” Flournoy said. via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “I know the offense now. I know how to operate as a professional. Coming in from college, coming in from a small school, you kind of get drowned out. Just trying to navigate what works for you and seeing what works for others. my confidence skyrocketed after I found what worked for me.”.
Flournoy’s path includes a clear moment of opportunity. He played at Southeast Missouri State. and the jump to the NFL came with the kind of adjustment he described as being “drowned out” when he arrived. What changed. in his telling. was not just getting reps—it was learning how to translate his preparation into the flow of Dallas’ offense and trusting what he could do within it.
This offseason, that learning curve met a door that opened. Flournoy received extra reps with Pickens skipping all of the voluntary work and Lamb opting out of some of it. Now he’s framed his next step as readiness for whatever the Cowboys need from him.
“I’m just out there playing freely,” Flournoy said. “I know what’s on the play sheet. I know the calls. I know what play to run. For me, I’m not out there thinking. I’m just out there executing.”
The arc from a preseason fumble to a career-setting season has made Flournoy’s message simple: he doesn’t see himself as a temporary option behind stars anymore. He sees himself as part of the offense’s operating system—one that. for him. starts with knowing the calls. running the right plays. and letting execution replace hesitation.
Ryan Flournoy Dallas Cowboys CeeDee Lamb George Pickens preseason sixth-round pick Southeast Missouri State wide receiver 2025 season 407 receiving yards 35 receptions four touchdowns