Elijah Chatman (born December 5, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defensive end for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the SMU Mustangs and was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent in .

Early life

Chatman was born on December 5, 2000, and grew up in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. He is the youngest of four siblings. He started playing football at age six and showed "incredible" strength from a young age; according to '' The Dallas Morning News'', he was able to lift in seventh grade with only "slight difficulty". He attended

Evangel Christian Academy Evangel Christian Academy is a private, Christian school in Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shr ...

in Shreveport where he was a standout lineman, being named the LSWA Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year, first-team all-state and the district

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. Chatman also was a top student, compiling a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.9, and set the school

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

record of and later . A three-star recruit, he was part of the '' Shreveport Times'' Top 10 list and committed to play

for the SMU Mustangs.

College career

At SMU, Chatman mainly played as a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, but also saw time at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. He appeared in 11 games as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2019, recording 11 tackles and a half- sack, being selected American Athletic Conference (AAC) All-Academic. He started all 10 games in the 2020 season, posting 25 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs), 3.0 sacks and two

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recoveries. In 2021, he started 11-of-12 games and totaled 40 tackles, 10 TFLs and 2.5 sacks, earning second-team All-AAC hobors. By the 2022 season, Chatman was able to bench press , was able to do 42 consecutive reps at (something only 11 NFL Scouting Combine participants were ever able to surpass), back-squat and power clean . Prior to the season, he earned a spot on Bruce Feldman of '' The Athletics "freaks" list, highlighting the most athletic college football players. That year, he started 11-of-13 games and recorded 39 tackles, four TFLs and three sacks, being chosen second-team All-AAC and to the '' Dave Campbell's Texas Football'' All-Texas second-team. He returned for a final season in 2023 and started 11 games, posting 33 tackles, nine TFLs and 5.5 sacks, being selected first-team All-AAC. He ended his collegiate career with 148 tackles, 34 TFLs and 13.5 sacks. His 60 career games played also placed second in school history.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL Draft will be the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in Detroit, Michigan. Host city Detroit was chosen as the host city on March 28 ...

, Chatman was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent. Chatman was notably among the 53 players to make the Giants initial regular season roster. In week 3 against the Cleveland Browns Chatman recorded his first career sack.

References

External links

SMU Mustangs bioNew York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatman, Elijah 2000 births Living people American football defensive ends Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana Evangel Christian Academy alumni SMU Mustangs football players New York Giants players