Chiefs' undrafted rookie Carson Steele emerges as RB2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Carson Steele came to the Kansas City Chiefs this year as an undrafted rookie thinking he might have to make the team as a fullback, the position his stocky, 6-foot, 228-pound body looks as if it's suited for.

Steele wound up making the initial 53-player roster Tuesday because he showed there's far more to his game than blocking and playing on special teams. Between breaking tackles, making the occasional defender miss, catching passes and pass protecting, Steele not only won a job but finished training camp and the preseason as the leading backup for featured back Isiah Pacheco .

"That was kind of my main goal coming into camp,'' Steele said. "My main goal was trying to be like a Swiss Army knife, a do-it-all type of deal and wherever they need to put me in is where I can get in. ... Being able to block, especially catch out of the backfield too, not only just being able to run."

Steele doesn't fit the norm in other ways. He's called "Crocodile" by some of his teammates because he has a 100-pound pet alligator he calls Crocky J that he keeps in an aquarium at his parents' home in Indiana.

But his football skill is what drew the Chiefs' attention to Steele. He played two seasons at Ball State, rushing for 14 touchdowns and more than 1,500 yards as a sophomore.

Steele transferred to UCLA, where he played one season and rushed for 847 yards.

The Chiefs entered the offseason needing a running back to complete their depth chart but didn't add any through free agency or the draft. That left an opening for Steele, who went undrafted and signed with the Chiefs.

Steele took advantage. He led the Chiefs in rushing during the preseason with 87 yards and a healthy per carry average of 7.9 yards. He also rushed for two touchdowns.

"He's been progressively getting better and better by the day,'' offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. "What I like about him is right now he's doing a lot of good things and being in the right spot at the right time and you can trust him.''

Steele appeared to clinch his roster spot in the final preseason game against the Chicago Bears , when he broke tackle attempts on a 31-yard run to set up his 1-yard touchdown on the next play.

"He looked good tonight,'' coach Andy Reid said after the game. "A physical kid. I know the guys were excited when he was carrying it. ... It didn't really look like (the Bears) wanted to tackle him. That's a plus if you're a running back.

"He's growing and that's what we wanted to see. We wanted to see him get in there with the ones and see what he could do."

Steele is also a candidate to be one of the Chiefs' kickoff returners. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub suggested the Chiefs needed someone of Steele's size doing the job.

"He looks good back there,'' Toub said. "He hits it north and south. He'd be able to block. You just can't have two punt returners back there, I don't think."

Steele's role with the Chiefs could be expansive for someone a lot of teams thought would be a fullback.

"Some people said fullback, some people said running back,'' Steele said. "I knew it was going to be up in the air. When the Chiefs contacted me, they said they didn't really know yet. They were kind of thinking fullback, short yardage. Being a bigger back, that's what I thought was going to happen.

"We talked about coming in on packages, third-and-1, third-and-2s, being able to be a bigger guy in to block.''

The Chiefs might use Steele partially in a traditional fullback role, but it looks as if he will be more than that in their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens (Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET, Prime Video). He had been staying in a Kansas City area hotel and now must find a place to live.

He's hoping it's one that allows him to bring along Crocky J, who couldn't accompany him to UCLA because of local laws.

"Hopefully Kansas (City) lets me have him out,'' he said. "That's a big goal of mine.''