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Before reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was issued top honors from the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory last February, one teammate in particular seemed primed for the award: Running back Damien Williams. A year later, Williams will not get a second chance at Super Bowl MVP thanks to his early opt-out of the 2020 season. But another Chiefs running back named Williams -- Darrel Williams, to be exact -- just might be the next Super Bowl breakout candidate for Kansas City.

There are no shortage of 2021 Super Bowl MVP candidates on the Chiefs. Mahomes is an obvious choice, as are No. 1 wide receiver Tyreek Hill and perennial Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce, not to mention Williams' counterparts at running back, star rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire and former Steelers standout Le'Veon Bell. But if you're looking for a deep sleeper, you can do a lot worse than Williams, who's quietly but steadily absorbed a larger role in Kansas City's backfield ahead of the big game.

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An undrafted addition out of LSU in 2018, Williams has never topped 170 rushing yards in a single season with the Chiefs, taking a combined 93 carries through three years as a backup. He's logged at least 10 carries in three of the team's last four games, however, including a Chiefs-leading 13 against Buffalo in the AFC Championship win. He's also been targeted at least once in all but one of Kansas City's games this year, including the playoffs, totaling 17 touches for 94 yards against the Browns in the divisional round. Two weeks before that, he played a season-high 70 percent of the Chiefs' offensive snaps.

Does that mean he's primed to steal valuable carries from Edwards-Helaire and Bell? Not necessarily, but the Chiefs have been known to diversify their ground game before, and in a Super Bowl that SportsLine projects to hit the Over in total rushing yards, he could very well be in line for big-play chances. Williams is averaging five yards per carry this postseason, getting 13 carries in both of Kansas City's playoff wins so far. Who's to say he can't follow in the footsteps of Damien Williams and break out, even with limited work? The latter totaled just 47 and 45 yards on the ground in his first two 2019 playoff games before exploding for 133 yards from scrimmage in the Super Bowl against San Francisco.