Why Elijah Chatman is Making It Hard for NY Giants to Deny Him a Roster Spot

The more you can do in the NFL, the better your chances of keeping a roster spot.

That’s a mantra that New York Giants defensive tackle Elijah Chatman has taken to heart this summer. Chatman, 6-foot and 280 pounds, is the smallish Giants defensive lineman who initially came to the team via a successful tryout last year. 

Chatman, who played his college ball at SMU, impressed enough to earn an invitation to the Giant’s 2024 training camp. From there, he impressed further with his play on defense, earning a spot on the 53-man roster.

This year, though, the former SMU defender has a bit of an uphill battle to stick on the roster thanks to the Giants having brought in a slew of defensive linemen in a quest to beef up the run defense.

But that hasn’t deterred Chatman’s hope of making the roster again, and to prove that, he’s been willing to dip into his college roots, where, in addition to playing defensive line, Chatman also played some fullback, a position that the Giants have had him play this summer.

“Chat’s a true pro,” head coach Brian Daboll said on Sunday. “He’s got speed, quickness, and explosion. I know he’s a smaller player, but he’s got some good speed and quickness in there, and we thought we’d utilize him some as a fullback because he did some of that at SMU.”

Chatman has only played a couple of snaps in the two preseason games this summer at fullback, both of those snaps coming against the Jets, where he’s posted a 58.8 run blocking grade. 

Interestingly, Daboll, when he was the offensive coordinator in Buffalo, made regular use of a fullback. With the Giants, however, the position has been something of a luxury for the team, perhaps due to the injuries on the roster that have necessitated the team keeping extra players at different spots.

As a defensive lineman, Chatman puts up a fight on every snap, but again, his smallish size tends to work against him. But Daboll loves the kid’s toughness, proudly revealing that each time Chatman has played at fullback, he’s broken his face mask from having stuck his nose into the trenches.

While Daboll sounds as though he'd like to keep Chatman if possible, it’s far from being a slam dunk.

“He’s a tough guy,” Daboll said. “We’ll keep working with him, keep trying to improve him, and give him some different roles to create as much value for the team as he can.”

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.