New York Giants 2025 Training Camp Preview: DL Elijah Chatman

Can Elijah Chatman stick around for a second season despite all the competition the team has brought in at the defensive line spot?

Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Elijah Chatman (94) runs on the field during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Every offseason and into training camp, there is a player that seemingly comes out of nowhere to beat the odds and grab a spot on the New York Giants 53-man roster.

Last year, the person was former SMU defensive lineman Elijah Chatman. This player was initially invited to the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis but impressed enough, despite his small size, to earn an undrafted free agent (UDFA) contract and then further impressed, landing on the 53-man roster. 

At just 6-0 and 280 pounds, Chatman lacks the ideal size to play in the trenches. But what he lacked in size, he more than made up for in heart. He played through some late-season injuries, remaining available for all 17 games and starting three. 

He finished with 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and a sack, with most of his 423 defensive snaps coming as a pass rusher.

Chatman also finished with four pressures, including two quarterback knockdowns, and did not miss a single tackle, a rare accomplishment for most players, let alone rookies. 

And he contributed 51 snaps on special teams when asked, his play pretty much making a case on every snap as to why he belonged at this level. 

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ELIJAH CHATMAN, DL

• Height: 6-0
• Weight: 280  lbs.
• Exp.: 2 Years
• School: SMU
• How Acquired: UDFA-’24

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2024 in Review

Having survived a 17-game rookie season, slugging it out in the trenches is not an easy feat, but Chatman, who had some success as an inside pass rusher on passing downs, hung on till the very end.

In the regular-season finale, he suffered an injury trying to make a diving tackle attempt. He refused to be helped off the field and instead walked off under his power. That particular play pretty much summarized what Chatman brought to the team last year: speed and hustle. 

Speaking of speed and hustle, Chatman put that on full display in a pre-season game against the Houston Texans when he ran 40 yards downfield to stop Texans running back J.J. Taylor, who had previously eluded at least two tackle attempts.  

By year’s end, Chatman proved to be more of a movement player who, due to a lack of girth and technique, struggled to disrupt at the point of attack. 

Contract/Cap Info

Chatman is in the second year of his three-year, $$2.831 million contract he signed as a UDFA. His deal initially included a $1,000 signing bonus, which comes to $333 per year in prorated money. This year, he’s due to count for $960,333 against the cap, $960 of that being his base salary. 

Since we are now at the June 1 mark in the calendar, if the Chatman were to not make the roster this summer, the team would save $960,000 in cap savings (which right now doesn’t even count against the top 51) and be hit with only $333 in dead money this year and $334 in dead money next year.

2025 Preview

Despite his hustle and toughness, Chatman has a lot to overcome, given his size. That’s not to say he can’t overcome it, but it certainly puts him at a bit more of a disadvantage than some of his competition.

And speaking of competition, the Giants have brought in a lot of it for the upcoming training camp, with most of the competition consisting of veterans but also including third-round draft pick Darius Alexander. 

Chatman, as was the case this time last year when he went from tryout to UDFA to roster hopeful, is right back where he started in terms of having to climb uphill.

But if there’s one thing he’s demonstrated in his short time in the league, it is that he’s a fighter who finds a way to overcome the odds stacked against him, making him very easy to root for.

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