It’s late June, which is about as quiet a period as we can have in and around the NFL. There’s still plenty percolating around the Cowboys, and the foundational stars on the roster that need new contracts, but there are other aspects of this team to consider, too. One of them is depth at the receiver position.
There isn’t much. We know that. There’s CeeDee Lamb, one of the players in need of a new deal, and there’s Brandin Cooks. But after the release of veteran Michael Gallup, there is no clear third receiver, though Jalen Tolbert will certainly get his crack at filling that role.
But there’s a name on the roster that could bear watching, if not in the short term than in the long term: Ryan Flournoy, the Cowboys’ sixth-round pick out of Southeast Missouri State. On one hand, Flournoy will be challenged even to make the roster for the 2024 Cowboys, but on the other, he could follow in the footsteps of another lightly regarded receiver who blossomed into a Pro Bowler in Dallas: Miles Austin.
In a lengthy post at Cowboys Wire this week, writer Reid Hanson noted that Austin’s explosion into stardom 15 years ago could well be a “blueprint” for Flournoy’s future.
Cowboys’ Gamble Paid off on Miles Austin
It’s an interesting correlation. Here’s how Hanson wrote it:
“Austin serves as the blueprint for how to slowly and effectively develop an athletically gifted prospect from a lower-rated college football program. His steady work in the background progressed year after year and when he was finally given the chance, a quarter of the way into his fourth season, he exploded, posting two consecutive Pro Bowl seasons and cashing in for over $40 million in career earnings. It’s a blueprint Cowboys rookie Ryan Flournoy should be mindful of.”
Austin, an undrafted rookie from Monmouth, did not play much in his first three seasons, making 18 catches in 37 mostly special-teams games from 2006 to 2008. But when the Cowboys took the training wheels off in 2009, he exploded for 1,320 yards, 11 touchdowns and the first of two Pro Bowl spots.
Like Austin, who set the receiving record at Monmouth, Flournoy has good measurables and starred at a small school, earning back-to-back first-team All-Big South/Ohio Valley Conference honors. He ran a 4.44 40-yard dash, right in line with that of Austin (4.47). Flournoy is a potentially freakish athlete, the same raw ability that the team saw in Austin early on.
They have similar builds, too—Austin was 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, and Flournoy is 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, with room to fill out.
Ryan Flournoy Requires Patience
But there could be some big differences with Flournoy. The Cowboys were able to be very patient in how they brought along Austin, but can the team have the same level of discipline when it comes to Flournoy? And, will he put in the work to learn the precise NFL route-running and blocking concepts that will make him a reliable player in the league?
Austin was able to stay put and develop despite coaching changes with the Cowboys—will Flournoy get that same consistent chance to develop if Mike McCarthy moves on after the season?
If the patience and work are there, Flournoy has the potential to follow Austin’s example.
“It’s clear he has the athletic ability and size to be an NFL WR, he just needs to learn the nuances of the position. That’s no small task since many talented players have tried and failed to achieve that,” Hanson wrote.
“Austin showed the results are worth it.”
