It’s no mystery why players such as George Pickens, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons dominate Cowboys headlines. They’re all star players with questions surrounding their upcoming season, either in expected level of play, uncertain contract status or their role in the locker room. They are headline generators in-season and out.
Players deeper down the roster don’t get the same attention, which is a shame because they tend to have some of the most compelling storylines. For someone like fullback Hunter Luepke, the storyline is both compelling and variable.
As a fullback, Luepke enjoys a level of fame abnormal for a role player of his snap count. Fullback has long been seen as a throwback position in the modern NFL and someone like him harkens back memories of Daryl Johnston for the many nostalgic Cowboys fans longing for the glory of yesteryear.
While the comparison to Johnston is understandable, it’s a little unfair and a little apples-to-oranges in application. Luepke isn’t that type of fullback. He can lead block when called upon but he’s not the bruising every down lead blocker many think of when picturing a player of his position.
Luepke better compares to a different former Cowboys fullback instead. He’s someone who is an excellent pass catcher out of the backfield, a solid pass protector behind the line or at the line, and someone who’s a good ball carrier in his own right. Luepke is a do-it-all back who can be classified as a halfback, H-back and tight end just as easily as he can a fullback. It all makes for an extremely interesting storyline to follow this summer as the various position players fight to carve out roles.
Luepke and the passing game
In his two seasons with the Cowboys Luepke has shown himself to be a solid pass catcher. Last season he posted 12 receptions for 111 yards on a 9.3 yard/reception average. It resulted in a respectable five first downs.
As a pass protector Luepke logged a PFF grade of 69.3 in 2024. Stacked against other RBs in the league last year that would rank him fifth, just behind J.K. Dobbins. The sample size isn’t significant in either category but in his limited opportunities he’s been extremely effective, causing many to believe he’s been underutilized.
Luepke the ball carrier
Like his contributions in the passing game, Luepke’s opportunities running the ball have been limited. The 25-year-old gained just 38 yards on 12 attempts in 2024. His 3.17 average was less than Rico Dowdle, KaVontae Turpin, CeeDee Lamb and even Deuce Vaughn. It was only marginally better than Ezekiel Elliott so why would he possibly deserve more attempts?
Since all carries are not created equal, we can look to EPA to answer that question. Luepke’s 0.94 EPA in 2024 was better than any RB on the roster. In fact, he was the only RB to post a positive number in the all-important statistic. It seems Luepke carried the ball in enough high-leverage situations to be extremely valuable for Dallas.
Luepke in non-RB roles
While 255 of Luepke’s snaps came in the backfield as either a fullback, running back or H-back, 40 were inline, 24 were in the slot, and eight were split out wide. Luepke’s ability to play multiple roles across the offense open him up to more opportunities than the average player and could result in a surge in usage in 2025.
Unknown nature of Cowboys RB and TE positions
Aiding Luepke in his quest for a bigger role is the suspect depth the Cowboys have in the various position groups in which he plays. Unless John Stephens bounces back from injury in training camp, the TE room appears to have a significant falloff after the top three. Luepke’s ability to play various TE roles could allow them to only go three deep at TE this season.
The RB room is equally shallow in depth. Javonte Williams and the rookie Jaydon Blue look like locks but behind them it’s anyone’s guess. Luepke could easily carve out a bigger role on short yardage, third downs, and multiple RB sets like 21 and 22 personnel groups.
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