Bills Meet with Small-School WR Ryan Flournoy: Potential Day 3 Sleeper

The Buffalo Bills have met with wide receiver Ryan Flournoy from Southeast Missouri State per Jeremy Fowler. The small-school prospect has burst onto the scene after fantastic performances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.

A secret to no one paying attention to the NFL, the Bills are in the market to add a WR or two via the 2024 NFL Draft. Flournoy is likely a Day 3 prospect, but he’s made his case to land with a team and show the value he can bring to an NFL roster.

College Career

2019: Played at Central Missouri, making 17 receptions for 170 yards

2020: No season due to COVID-19

2021: Played at Iowa Western CC where he was their top receiver with 32 receptions for 545 yards and five TDs

2022: Played at Southeast Missouri State; 61 receptions for 981 yards and eight total TDs; season highlight was a 15-reception, 256-yard, one touchdown performance versus Eastern Kentucky

2023: 57 receptions for 839 yards and seven total TDs

2024 NFL Scouting Combine

• Height: 6’1”
• Weight: 202 pounds
• 40-yard dash: 4.44 seconds
• 10-yard split: 1.53 seconds
• Vertical jump: 39.5” (7th among WRs)
• Broad jump: 11’ (4th among WRs)
• Bench Press: 19 reps (2nd among WRs)

Flournoy did himself some favors at the combine by testing well. He graded out strong with the RAS scoring system, and remains a Day 3 prospect with athletic upside. Not only did he test well in explosive-type tests, but he also pumped out an impressive 19 reps on the bench press.

Highlights

This play isn’t anything jaw-dropping, but Flournoy makes this catch look easy showing he can elevate and get two feet in bounds on a high throw near the sideline.

Flournoy participated in the gauntlet drill at the combine, shown in the above video. He performed exceptionally well not only catching every ball, but also kept in a straight line while continuing to run close to full speed. What I like most is Flournoy’s confidence in his hands. He never moved his head out of the way of the ball and didn’t break stride or slow up to catch any footballs.

Here, Flournoy shows off his run-after-the-catch ability on this play.

Pros

• Has the size and athletic build of an NFL WR
• Has juice with the ball in his hands and can make plays after the catch
• Known to exhibit high character
• Performed well at the Senior Bowl against good competition

Cons

• Came from a small school with lesser competition
• Route running needs more development to create separation, but he has the athleticism to do so
• Likely not an immediate big-time contributor
• Older than most prospects coming out in the draft (24)

How he fits with the Buffalo Bills

Ryan Flournoy has the potential to outperform wherever he gets drafted. He needs time to polish his game to become an NFL starter, but the traits and athleticism are there. The Bills have often given late-round receivers a “redshirt year” (Justin Shorter and Marquez Stevenson) — whether that’s by “design” or true injury problems, we won’t know.

Barring a true injury, I doubt Flournoy would fall into that situation as Buffalo needs to fill out their receivers room. If the Bills drafted Flournoy, I would expect him to be a rotational player who doesn’t make much noise in his first year or two. However, Flournoy has the potential to develop into a weekly contributor by the end of his rookie contract if he can put it all together.

2024-04-13 18:47:48
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