It's not a mystery that the Dallas Cowboys have one of the best rushing attacks in football, thanks to their clear first-string running back, Javonte Williams, who's third in rushing at the end of Week 5. It's easy to highlight Williams' resurrection, but one of his lead blockers deserves some love as well.
Hunter Luepke's Cowboys' tenure was shortly on life support over the summer thanks to a crowded running back room. Nobody would've predicted Luepke to be having some of the best days of his NFL career. His blocking in the backfield has been key to Williams being in the position he's in now.
Over the summer, Luepke's spot on the team didn't come with 100 percent certainty. He's clearly defied those odds to turn himself into a dependable blocker for Williams.
Hunter Luepke has clearly found his role as lead blocker to Javonte Williams
Luepke, in his third season out of North Dakota State, is finally starting to find his niche as a lead blocker for Williams. Since being signed as an undrafted rookie, Luepke has been lined up as a fullback, halfback and tight end for Prescott, but his best stuff is in the backfield blocking for Williams.
Luepke is getting more comfortable with his role every week and his experience with Brian Schottenheimer is starting to pay off. We highlight Williams being a consistent running back every week, and Luepke has helped spearhead that by helping out as the classic fullback.
We shouldn't expect Luepke to become a modern-day fullback like Kyle Juszczyk, who can both catch and block consistently, but just having a main blocker to help out Williams is fine enough with the personnel the Cowboys have on offense already.
It looked like the former Bison halfback wouldn't make the roster at one point with such a crowded backfield, but when Deuce Vaughn got the axe, it became pretty clear that Luepke's spot was safe.
Fans have been waiting for Luepke to find his role, and he's quietly been the secret weapon to help pave the way for Williams to take the NFL by storm.