Giants’ fan-favorite defensive lineman just got buried

Sometimes you dig so deep for treasure that you forget you’ve already got gold sitting just beneath the surface.

That’s what the New York Giants might be facing with second-year defensive tackle Elijah Chatman heading into the 2025 season.

While the Giants fortified their defensive line in the draft, they may have buried one of last year’s more intriguing standouts.

Chatman, an undrafted gem out of SMU, quietly flashed potential late in 2024 when the depth chart began to thin out.

Now, with the roster loaded after a strong offseason, he’s once again fighting to stay relevant in a very crowded room.

Draft additions pushed proven players down the ladder

The Giants spent the third overall pick on pass-rushing phenom Abdul Carter to upgrade their pressure off the edge.

Later, they doubled down in the trenches by selecting Darius Alexander 65th overall to complement Dexter Lawrence inside.

That move added a powerful run-stopper to a group already featuring Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Jordan Riley.

It also complicated things for Chatman, whose role now looks far more fragile than it did to end last season.

Even DJ Davidson and Jeremiah Ledbetter are jostling for rotational snaps, making the interior one of the team’s deepest groups.

Despite a limited role, Chatman showed he belonged, especially during the final two games of the 2024 campaign.

He tallied six total pressures and five quarterback hurries combined against the Colts and Eagles in Weeks 17 and 18.

On the season, he produced 19 pressures, 15 total tackles, and remarkably didn’t miss a single tackle in 423 snaps.

That kind of reliability and hustle stands out—particularly from an undersized defensive lineman most wrote off after the draft.

At just 6-feet tall and 278 pounds, Chatman isn’t built like a traditional NFL defensive tackle, but he’s got burst.

His get-off and leverage help him win matchups against larger guards, especially when penetrating gaps in passing situations.

The problem isn’t what Chatman has done—it’s that the Giants simply have better pedigrees ahead of him on paper.

Carter and Alexander are top draft picks. Lawrence is a superstar. Nunez-Roches and Robertson-Harris are established veterans.

For Chatman, the math doesn’t lie: he needs to absolutely dominate training camp to avoid slipping to the practice squad.

Fortunately, his low salary and developmental upside make him an easy stash if he doesn’t crack the 53-man roster.

But if the Giants suffer any injuries—or want extra juice in pass-rushing situations—Chatman could be a dark horse contributor.