Elijah Chatman was just doing his job. At least that’s how the New York Giants rookie saw it.

But chasing a running back nearly 50 yards from the line of scrimmage to attempt a touchdown-saving tackle is not typically part of the job of a 278-pound defensive lineman.

“I didn’t think about it at the time,” Chatman said after his incredible performance in the Giants’ preseason game against the Houston Texans last week. “I just ran after him because I was the last line of defense.”

GO DEEPER

Giants final 53-man roster projection: Is Azeez Ojulari a trade candidate?

An undrafted rookie signed after a minicamp tryout, Chatman was the breakout player in training camp, but his aggressive play not only endeared him to his teammates, but also earned him a new legion of fans.

It also seems to significantly bolster his chances of making the Giants’ 53-man roster. Chatman, who played well into the second half last week in Houston, didn’t even play in Saturday night’s final preseason game against the New York Jets — the same can be said for nearly all of the Giants’ starters and those expected to make the team.

“That was a hell of a play,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said earlier this week. “So that’s something you evaluate: the effort of the guys, how they run to the ball. The same goes offensively, clean in the pocket, chasing the ball. That was a great play by him.”

That’s an understatement. Chatman was on the right side of the offense and the play took Texans running back JJ Taylor around the left end. Chatman might have been able to make a play if Taylor had backed down the field. But he didn’t.

The Texans running back sprinted down the opposite sideline and for a moment it looked like he had successfully evaded Giants cornerback Mario Goodrich’s attempted tackle. Taylor had actually stepped out of bounds, but neither he nor Chatman knew that. Taylor kept running and Chatman, despite weighing nearly 100 pounds more than Taylor, closed the gap on the running back and pulled him to the ground. According to Next Gen Stats, Chatman reached 16.28 mph while chasing Taylor.

It may not surprise you that Chatman was a running back in high school in Shreveport, Louisiana. Perhaps that fact is what calms Taylor down when he gets caught from behind by a defensive tackle.

Regardless, that play was just the latest positive impression Chatman made this summer. Thanks to his ability to penetrate the offensive backfield, he has been playing more and more with the Giants’ first-team defense. It also helped that the Giants have had some injuries on an already thin defensive line. Although that clears the way for him, Chatman has made the most of his opportunities.

Chatman’s speed brought him national attention, but his strength has long been his trademark. Thanks to his impressive skills in the weight room, Chatman made Bruce Feldman’s 2023 “Freaks List.” At SMU, Chatman benched 505 pounds and did 42 reps of 225 pounds.

“They say he does 185-pound dumbbell rows just as a challenge,” Feldman wrote.

In case you missed it, you can listen to it again here! https://t.co/yT3zPGcUuq https://t.co/0aKPACphpu

– Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) 23 August 2024

His unusual strength has spread among his Giants teammates. At first, veteran defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, who is listed at 6’2″, was happy to have Chatman (who is listed at 6’1″ but is 6’1″) on the team because he would no longer be the smallest defensive lineman on the roster. But then Chatman began to frustrate his veteran teammate with his strength in the weight room.

For incline dumbbells, Nuñez-Roches likes to start with 110 pounds. Chatman starts with 135 pounds. Chatman also starts his bench press with a heavier weight than Nuñez-Roches.

“He makes me angry because I wear (my strength) like a badge of honor,” Nuñez-Roches said, laughing.

Chatman has leaned on Nuñez-Roches as a mentor. Because of their similar body types, Chatman has closely watched the veteran’s footage and adapted his own game. Chatman has noticed Nuñez-Roches “like a sore thumb” in this training camp.

“He’s even further ahead than me in my first year,” said Nuñez-Roches. “And I just say, ‘Dude, you’ve got it. Keep going. Don’t think about it too much. Just let your personality come through in your game.'”

Nuñez-Roches is particularly impressed with Chatman’s understanding of how to capitalize on his advantages in the pass rush, something he took several years to learn.

Funnily enough, Chatman remembers playing as Nuñez-Roches in the Madden NFL video games, although his favorite player besides him and in general is another small defensive tackle: Aaron Donald, the recently retired three-time Defensive Player of the Year who also happens to be 6-foot-1.

“You don’t expect someone his size and stature to be the best at his position because he doesn’t meet the size requirements that they typically look for,” Chatman said of the Los Angeles Rams legend. “That’s why I looked up to him a lot. He’s arguably one of the best defensive tackles in history, if not the best.”

GO DEEPER

NFL Hope-O-Meter: How optimistic are you for your team in 2024?

As an undrafted rookie, Chatman doesn’t need to be a star like Donald to be a success story. Making the team would be a good start. Chatman spent five seasons at SMU, where he played the second-most games in program history (60). In his final season, he recorded 33 total tackles, nine TFLs and 4.5 sacks. Despite his college success, he was not drafted or signed after the draft. Instead, he made minicamp tryouts with the Seattle Seahawks and Giants.

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown credited area scout Blaise Bell, college scout Justin Marcus and area scout Scott Hamill for leaving no stone unturned when it came to Chatman and what makes him an underdog at his size. Chatman’s 31-inch vertical leap, 4.81-second 40-yard dash (third-fastest of the defensive tackles highlighted in Dane Brugler’s The Beast), 32 bench presses and 9-4 broad jump certainly helped.

“All of those explosive stats give him the opportunity to be a breakaway player,” Brown said. “And even though he’s 6-foot-1, he’s got 33-inch arms. There are good traits when you look at the intangibles of his build and his makeup and figure out what he does best. The coaches are motivated, especially (defensive line coach Andre Patterson) and (assistant defensive line coach) Brian Cox.”

Patterson recently noted that Chatman may be small, but he’s not short. In fact, his stature works to his advantage, as pad height isn’t an issue for Chatman like it is for taller defensive players.

Patterson said Chatman still has a long way to go in his development, but also said he has coached players similar to Chatman who eventually became good players: “I don’t know if he’ll make it, but he has some qualities that I can’t offer him as a coach.”

Patterson has noticed some of those qualities in practice. Throughout practice, the coach rotated a group of young defensive players behind Dexter Lawrence and Nuñez-Roches, and Chatman stood out.

He consistently found his way into the backfield and performed well in the Giants’ first preseason game. Before the game against Houston, the Giants traded defensive lineman Jordan Phillips to the Dallas Cowboys, which could be seen as a vote of confidence in Chatman.

“I think when you look at what Elijah has done, the platform he’s been given, the reps he’s gotten, it’s because he’s earned it,” Brown said.

While it’s obvious Chatman will be on the final roster after Tuesday’s cuts, it sounds like he doesn’t want to mess it up.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Free daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up

“I’m just going with the flow,” Chatman said Saturday night. “No matter which way they go, it is what it is, but I have pretty high hopes that I’ll be on the team.”

(Photo: Perry Knotts/Getty Images)