Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy came out with an interesting quote back in March: he wants to "run the damn ball more"

This is interesting for a couple of reasons:

One, it was the strategy the Cowboys used back in 2016 after the selection of Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick. 

Coincidently, that year also featured a QB change. Tony Romo would go down with an injury, and thus the career arc of Dak Prescott took off. 

The Cowboys threw the ball 493 times and ran the ball 480 times during Prescott's and Elliott's rookie year, which is very obviously very close to a 50/50 split.

Things were much different once Kellen Moore took over the offense in 2019. 2020 was the peak of his tenure as offensive coordinator and that year, the Cowboys ran the ball 430 times as opposed to 639 passing attempts. This was followed by 473 rushing attempts to 647 passing attempts in 2021. 

Moore is now out as OC and it will be Mike McCarthy who is taking over play-calling duties.

And, as already mentioned, McCarthy has made it clear what he wants to do.

McCarthy's plan makes what host Connor Rogers said on Pro Football Focus' NFL Stock Exchange all the more interesting. Rogers and co-host Trevor Sikkema recently discussed each team's most impactful rookie outside of Round 1.

And Rogers had an interesting name for the Cowboys: North Dakota State UDFA Hunter Luepke.

Luepke is more than just a fullback. He is an offensive utility player. He can take handoffs, he can run routes, and he can block. 

But what ties all this together is the fact McCarthy used former All-Pro fullback, John Kuhn, heavily in Green Bay. Kuhn, a UDFA himself out of Shippensburg, was a key part of the Packers offense and helped the team win a Super Bowl in 2010.

The Cowboys gave Luepke $200,000 in guaranteed money as an undrafted free agent, so they have made an investment in him, and you would think they have a plan for him. 

Could Luepke end up following the same path? No one knows for sure. But, clearly, it's not impossible and if any coach can make it happen – it might just be McCarthy.