Giants lineman should have guaranteed roster spot for Herculean chase down

Week 2 of the preseason for the New York Giants brought out most of what fans have seen from them since they selected Daniel Jones in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The team lost 28-10 and Jones threw two interceptions.

Jones did show some flashes of brilliance while he played, and had 138 yards passing on his 11 completions, but again, the final result cannot be ignored. The Giants got smoked, as has become tradition.

While the final score was brutal and Jones was up-and-down at best, that doesn't mean that the game only consisted of negatives. One exciting play from an unlikely source could wind up having an impact when it comes to New York's 53-man roster.

Elijah Chatman should have guaranteed roster spot after impressive chase down

Texans running back J.J. Taylor broke a tackle and looked as if he had a clear touchdown down the left sideline, but seemingly out of nowhere came Giants defensive lineman Elijah Chatman for the tackle. Chatman appeared to be out of the play before turning on the jets and somehow tracking Taylor down with a LeBron James-esque chase down.

This kind of effort and play could be the deciding factor for a guy like Chatman who was on the roster bubble at best entering this game. It was Chatman's lone solo tackle of the day, but still, it should be enough for him to get one of New York's last spots.

This Giants team doesn't look great on paper, obviously, but one strength could be the defensive line with Dexter Lawrence and newcomer Brian Burns obviously playing a big role there. Lawrence, Burns, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are locks to make the team, and guys like Jordon Riley and Ryder Anderson have a good shot, but why not see what Chatman can do in a reserve role? If he's able to track a running back down in that fashion, there's clearly something there.

Giants receiver Darius Slayton certainly notices the work Chatman has put in.

The odds are stacked against Chatman given the fact that he was signed as an undrafted free agent coming out of SMU, but again, chase downs like this aren't normal from 278-pound men like Chatman. That's the kind of effort Brian Daboll and the Giants organization should be rewarding in preseason action, and they should want to see what else he can do. It's not as if this Giants team has much to lose if Chatman doesn't wind up being productive anyway.