Nobody should be surprised by the Dallas Cowboys’ convincing win over the New York Jets. The Cowboys did what they were supposed to do against a winless Jets team that is still trying to figure out its identity. What was surprising, though, was 2024 sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy coming out of nowhere to get heavily involved, while Jalen Tolbert was an afterthought.
Flournoy, now in his second year from Southeast Missouri State, took full advantage of increased playing time amid the Cowboys’ injury issues. He hauled in nine catches for 114 yards and added two carries for 10 yards in the blowout win. His emergence gives Dak Prescott another reliable weapon, but it also raises a serious question about Jalen Tolbert’s role.
With the WR room pretty thin thanks to the injuries to CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin, Tolbert was expected to be one of the guys to take on a bigger role leap. He didn’t do that at all, and only got one target for no catches in the 37-22 win against the Jets.
Ryan Flournoy’s rise marks obvious doubts about Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert
This was a game where Tolbert was supposed to explode, especially with two injuries in the WR room, but he never did. We get it. Sometimes, it’s just not your game, but only getting one target out there against the Jets’ defense while everybody else was feasting is concerning, to say the least. This was a much different look than the week prior.
Tolbert made a remarkable catch late against Green Bay, showing perfect concentration on a long pass by Prescott as he was able to drag both feet in bounds to make a catch. As such, Cowboys fans expected him to be featured heavily on Sunday, but that didn’t come to pass.
This issue brings up the George Pickens trade all over again. Of course, the former Steeler was brought in to help Prescott and Lamb, but in reality, it’s clear the Joneses seemed unsure that Tolbert could take on that WR2 role.
The Pickens addition has paid huge dividends, and he’s the clear WR2 compared to what Tolbert was last year. Fans are already excited about Turpin’s speed and what else he can bring to the table, but it wasn’t on anybody’s bingo card to see Flournoy get tons more action than Tolbert. This should’ve been a slam-dunk matchup for Tolbert to feast, but he put up a donut in the box score.
The radio silence is concerning for Tolbert, and it brings up the question of where Brian Schottenheimer will go from here. Schotty hasn’t been opposed to making big changes, and we have to watch and see what happens.
Making Flournoy the new WR3 over Tolbert should be an obvious call.
