Cowboys may have an in-house replacement for George Pickens

While George Pickens wasn't in attendance at voluntary workouts for the Dallas Cowboys, they still believe he's going to be there when it counts.

After acquiring him last offseason and a strong campaign, the Cowboys used the franchise tag on the former second-round wide receiver. Even so, with no plans to give him a long-term deal, the Cowboys might want to consider all options to replace him.

Considering that, Reid D. Hanson of USA Today's Cowboys Wire believes they may already have a potential replacement in Ryan Flournoy.

The Cowboys could replace George Pickens with Ryan Flournoy

While Flournoy might not be ready to take the reins from Pickens this season, another strong campaign like the one he had last year could convince the Cowboys to pull the plug on the Georgia product after this season.

"At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Flournoy is built to play any role across the formation. Size, speed and athletic ability indicate WR2 potential is well within his grasp. He’s obviously not going to supplant Pickens in 2026, but a breakout season this year may very well make Pickens expendable in 2027," Hanson wrote. 

Flournoy showed glimpses of strong play when CeeDee Lamb was out with injury, stepping up as the Robin to Pickens' Batman. He had six catches for 114 yards in Week 5, and then nine catches for 115 yards in Week 14 when the Cowboys needed an injury replacement, showing strong chemistry with QB Dak Prescott and an impressive ability to pile up yards after the catch.

Tagging Pickens again in 2027 would cost the Cowboys over $30 million, not to mention he may not sign the tender, and would probably lead to a long standoff between both parties. But if Flournoy has another promising campaign in 2026 as their WR3, Jerry and Stephen Jones might feel more comfortable letting Pickens walk.