Elijah Chatman seemingly came out of nowhere in 2024, earning an undrafted rookie free agent (UDFA) contract with the New York Giants after a successful minicamp tryout. He then surprised further, earning a spot on the 53-man roster.
The undersized defensive tackle went on to appear in all 17 games (three starts), recording 21 tackles (11 solo, two for a loss), three QB hits, and one sack. He also took 51 special teams snaps.
One thing Chatman didn’t do in 2024 was see time at fullback, which he might do here in 2025.
During the team’s sixth training camp practice on Tuesday, Chatman lined up at fullback and led the charge for a Tyrone Tracy Jr. touchdown.
“Lovely, lovely,” Tracy said of lining up behind Chatman. “You ever seen him in a squat room? Yeah, see him under a squat rack. Yeah, that’s lovely. Just let me tell you that, yeah.”
Fullback isn’t a position foreign to Chatman. During his time at SMU in 2023, he took 27 snaps as a fullback and played a similar role, to greater success, in high school.
“He was a 1,600-yard rusher in high school as a running back slash fullback. He had a pseudo, call it fullback package on offense at SMU,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said last year.
There’s no guarantee Chatman makes the 53-man roster this summer, but if he does, keep an eye out for his number in short-yardage and goal-to-go situations.
#Giants #Elijah #Chatman #fullback