In 2023, with Mike McCarthy at the helm, the Dallas Cowboys signed an undrafted free agent running back out of North Dakota State immediately after the 2023 draft ended.
Hunter Luepke’s role in Dallas was meant to be a fullback in the mold of John Kuhn, who played for McCarthy in Green Bay.
Over McCarthy’s last two years in Dallas, Luepke started in four of the 33 games he played in. He had 18 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown, along with 15 receptions for 129 yards.
Not exactly on par with Kuhn’s numbers in his hey days with the Packers. But apparently he showed enough.
A Surprise Extension
Prior to the season, the Cowboys signed Luepke to a two-year contract extension of $7,000,000.
That move seemed to indicate an increased role coming for the North Dakota State alum.
That wasn’t quite apparent over the first three games of the season, however. Luepke started the third game of the season against the Bears.
But at no point over the first three games did Luepke ever get his hands on the ball despite playing 31 snaps over that period.
His biggest contribution, as the Cowboys began the year 1-2, was two tackles on 53 special teams snaps.
In the 40-all tie against Green Bay, Luepke got his first start. He ran the ball once for six yards on 17 offensive plays and one tackle on 11 special teams snaps.
Over the next three games, as Dallas would even its record to 3-3-1, Luepke would become a receiving threat out of the backfield.
Luepke Rediscovered
He had one catch for 10 yards in 20 offensive plays with two tackles on 17 special teams snaps in the win over the Jets.
His lone touchdown this season came the next week in the 30-27 loss at Carolina. He caught two passes for seven yards in that game on just 15 snaps on offense.
In the 22-point rout over the Commanders, Luepke hauled in a three-yard pass in 11 snaps on offense.
In the back-to-back losses to Denver and Arizona, Luepke had one lone rush for two yards against the Broncos.
He had just 13 offensive snaps against Denver. The next week against the Cardinals, he never touched the ball on just five offensive plays.
Luepke has started the last three games. In the 33-16 win over Vegas he had three catches for 36 yards and one rush for five yards.
He did that on just 15 offensive snaps, and a season-high four touches that night.
In the win over the Chiefs, on 20 offensive snaps, and the loss against Detroit on a season-high 21 offensive snaps, he did not get a single touch of the football.
Looking Ahead
In total, Luepke has 184 offensive snaps in 13 games. He’s had 215 snaps on special teams and has 12 tackles this year.
The bottom line is that the Cowboys are 4-2-1 when Luepke touches the ball. They are 2-4 when he doesn’t.
It may very well be too late to save this season.
But for Dallas to make a strong run in 2026, maybe they need to start getting Luepke a little more involved in the offense.
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