Is Carson Steele the real deal or another overhyped Chiefs camp sensation?

If you follow the daily reports from Kansas City Chiefs training camp, you've been aware of Carson Steele for several weeks now, but his performance in K.C.'s first preseason game has turned him into one of the most talked about players on the team this past week. Steele went undrafted out of UCLA despite being a key offensive piece for the Bruins' offense last season. So now the question becomes is Carson Steele the real deal or is he just the latest in a long line of training camp sensations that never live up to the hype?

If you read Braden Holecek's excellent write-up on how Carson Steele can do some things that other backs can't, you know that he brings some unique skills to the table that could make him a likely candidate to make the 53-man roster. That's not easy to do as an undrafted rookie on a back-to-back Super Bowl winning roster. Steele is listed as a fullback and the Chiefs don't currently have any other fullback options on the roster, but he has also flashed the ability to be one of KC's best options carrying the football behind starting running back Isiah Pacheco. He also catches the ball pretty well, is stronger than most rookies in pass protection, and can play on special teams units.

While all those things are true, you can argue that Steele's new found popularity really comes from two main things. The first was his awesome tackle breaking run against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. It's the type of play that gets everyone's attention.

Then if we're being honest, the other major reason he's become such an overnight sensation is his combination of his long blond hair, big smile, and outgoing personality. How many undrafted fullback/fourth-string running backs have the NFL's social media accounts putting out clips about their pet alligator? I think it's pretty safe to say the answer to that is zero.

Look, I love the tackle breaking run and I love that he has a pet alligator named Crocky J. I love his potential versatility to help the offense in different ways even better, but could we be getting ahead of ourselves with Steele after one highlight reel play and a fun social media story? While I hope that's not the case, it's not like we haven't been down this road before.

History is littered with Kansas City Chiefs training camp sensations that never panned out

If you've been a fan of the Chiefs for a while, you might remember when many of us were convinced that Bobby Sippio was this amazing diamond in the rough that KC found and he was going to a major add to their wide receiver group. Spoilers: he never caught a pass in the NFL. Just last season we thought the Chiefs had stumbled upon two amazing finds at wide receiver in Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Justyn Ross. Smith-Marsette was eventually traded to the Carolina Panthers where he had 8 receptions for 51 yards and Justyn Ross ended the year with just 6 receptions for 53 yards despite KC's huge need for wide receiver help last season.

Speaking of last season, one of the guys that Steele is competing with for a job this year, Deneric Prince, had people buzzing about his potential to be a contributor as a rookie last season and he never saw an offensive snap and is still trying to earn a roster spot a year later. Before Prince it was Derrick Gore turning heads in training camp and preseason games. Before that, some of us were convinced that Darwin Thompson was going to be the next great change of pace back for KC. Those guys, like many other training camp sensations, never panned out.

So as you sit down to watch Saturday's game between the Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, one of the fascinating storylines is if Carson Steele can continue to stand out from the crowd. Will he get any snaps with the first-sdstring offense this week? Will he continue to make plays when he gets the chance? If we're talking about him making the roster and getting on the field, things like how he plays on special teams and how he does in pass protection may matter just as much as any potential big plays he makes in the game.

So what do you think Chiefs fans, does Steele look like a player who can deliver on his training camp hype or will he just end up being another one of those fun names we reminisce about years from now? I'm feeling hopeful that Steele will live up to the hype and can carve out a role for himself on this team, but then again, I would have said the same thing about Bobby Sippio and Darwin Thompson and one point in time as well.