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This rookie WR will flourish if Cowboys deploy a Miles Austin development plan

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It was Week 5 of the 2009 season. The 2-2 Cowboys were in Kansas City looking to get back into the win column. Their offense sputtered to the tune of only 10 points the week prior. They needed a spark, but it wasn’t clear where that spark would come from. Cue fourth-year pro Miles Austin.

Austin, an undrafted free agent from Monmouth, was getting his first true opportunity of his career when various other receiver injuries forced him into the lineup. In the 3-plus seasons prior he totaled only 393 receiving years. All he did that afternoon in KC was explode to the tune of 10 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Austin would go on to post 81 receptions for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns that season and go on to have a successful decade-long career.

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.

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Flournoy, drafted by Dallas in the sixth round out of Southeast Missouri State, relates to Austin in many ways. He wasn’t acquired with a top pick. He comes from a rather obscure football program. At 6-foot-1, 200-pounds, he has the physical presence of a pro but none of the polish. And most importantly he has an outrageous athletic profile that’s truly worth developing.

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Under the Bill Parcells administration, the Cowboys were extremely patient with Austin. They saw the value in his potential and were willing to put in the work to see his development through. If anything, they probably waited too long with Austin because a case can be made he should have been starting long before that fateful day in Kansas City. But the point is they didn’t rush things or grow impatient. The potential rewards were worth it. Much the same way with Flournoy.

Flournoy’s film, which is almost impossible to locate, isn’t exactly a Master class in NFL route running. The plan was often just to get the ball into his hands and let him take over. He’s starting from square one and that may not manifest into a 53-man roster spot this season. The Cowboys have to be willing to slow-play it with their rookie because his athletic profile appears to be worth it.

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Success is rarely achieved in an instant and that’s especially true for sixth round draft picks. A study that looked at all drafted WRs between the years 2000-2014, showed only 5.63% went on to claim starting roles for four or more seasons in their career.

Flournoy is a longshot just like Dallas’ Jalen Brooks, a promising WR drafted in seventh round a year earlier, is a longshot. The odds are against either of them ever rising to top-three status, but Austin shows it also isn’t impossible.

For Flournoy it’s all about the mental side of things. 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.

Austin showed the results are worth it. There’s nothing wrong with slow playing the development if that’s what it takes. It’s something the Cowboys and Flournoy should keep in mind as they work towards his development.

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