The Giants liked what they saw from Elijah Chatman during their two-day rookie minicamp and signed the undersized, powerful defensive tackle for their 90-man training camp roster.
Chatman, 23, went undrafted in 2023 out of Southern Methodist University, where he played for five seasons as a four-year starter.
In 56 games, he had 148 total tackles, 13.5 sacks, 33 tackles for loss and five fumble recoveries, one he returned for a touchdown.
At 6-foot and 278 pounds, Chatman does not have the usual size for an interior defensive lineman.
He is called “Baby Bison” and he showed enough working against the other rookies to earn a contract.
More than 50 players attended the minicamp on a tryout basis.
Coach Brian Daboll spent plenty of time speaking on the field during the two practices with the six players the Giants selected in the NFL draft but that does not mean he was not paying attention to the tryout players.
“That’s why you film every drill and spend time after practice,” Daboll said. “You go through the tape. You tell the coaches usually when training camp starts, and even in these camps, don’t be an instant evaluator, it’s not just one day but here you only have two days. We went through the first day, we’ll go ahead and watch these guys here in practice and then ultimately make our decisions.”