What We Learned: Offensive line looks to build chemistry

4. Chatman has ‘explosiveness & quick twitch’

One of the more intriguing position battles along the Giants ‘roster this summer has been on the defensive line. While two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence will obviously start, who lines up next to him, and who backs him up on the depth chart, remains to be seen. Despite joining the team as an undrafted free agent following a tryout at rookie minicamp, Elijah Chatman has put himself into the conversation for a roster spot following a strong start to training camp.

Chatman is not your stereotypical defensive tackle. The 23-year-old lineman is listed at 6-feet and 278 pounds, which is obviously smaller than your average tackle in the NFL. But don’t let his size fool you. Chatman, who was given the nickname “Baby Bison” at SMU, has flashed over the last few weeks, including recording a team-high five total pressures against the Lions last Thursday.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Daboll said Monday morning. “Again, he’s a smaller guy, but he’s got some length in his arms. He’s got some explosiveness and quick twitch, maybe a little bit different than some of the bigger guys. I think he’s developed since he’s been here. He had that tryout. I wouldn’t say it’s unusual, but it’s hard to do. So, he’s earned some more playing time. We’re going to give it to him and try to see him against as good a competition as we can so we can get a good evaluation. Give him some reps against the first team, whether it’s our team or Houston, so we can get a fair evaluation of him.”

5. Other injury & roster updates

While Malik Nabers got dinged up during Sunday’s practice, he wasn’t the only member of the ’24 draft class that was unable to finish practice. Third-round pick Dru Phillips suffered an ankle injury, which led to the rookie cornerback sitting out Monday’s practice.

“He got a little sore yesterday at practice, so we’re just backing off him a little bit to give him a day here,” Daboll said. “He was just tightening up in practice, so we pulled him back.”

While Schmitz and Neal have been on the practice field the last two sessions, they have yet to participate in team drills. Both players will need to be ramped up before they get onto the field in a game situation, which puts some uncertainty around their availability for Saturday’s game in Houston.

“We’ll see. I’d say probably a long shot,” the head coach said about the two young linemen suiting up this weekend. “We’ll do individuals again today with the pads on, and then we’ll see how they did, striking and doing things like that. I’d say probably a long shot. I wouldn’t rule them out, but I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent either.”

The Giants made a few roster moves over the last 24 hours, as well. Running back Jacob Saylors was waived Sunday night and replaced the following morning by running back Lorenzo Lingard.

Lingard spent the offseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released last week. The 6-foot, 202-pound back played in 52 collegiate games across six seasons, including two with Miami (2018-19), three with Florida (2020-22), and one with Akron (2023). He finished his collegiate career with 186 rush attempts for 927 yards (5.0 avg.) and seven touchdowns while adding 38 receptions for 399 yards and an additional two scores.