Giants' Elijah Chatman's faith has played key role on his journey to NFL

Faith kept Elijah Chatman grounded in his football journey. It became a guide when he wasn’t drafted this spring and fought his way through Giants minicamp.

Worried about impressing coaches? Read his Bible. Concern about making the roster after he was invited to training camp? Pray and read. Starting the Giants’ first game of the season? Another quick pause to reflect.

“I leaned on [God] every single day,” Chatman said this past week. “Prayed to him before practice, after practice, during practice, end of the day, in the hotel . . . so he got me through a lot. He got me here, I can definitely say that.”

Now Giants fans hope Chatman’s confidence translates on the field. With Dexter Lawrence going on injured reserve, the rookie defensive tackle is in line for more snaps against the Saints on Sunday and perhaps his first start since the season opener.

All he has to do is step in and fill the shoes of maybe the NFL’s best defensive tackle. Simple, right? At least that’s how Chatman sees it.

“I tell myself that I have to take it to another level,” he said. “Because when you get into the game and you’re playing after the vets, you don’t want it to be a change in the game. So I try my best to match what they put out there.”

It’ll be a challenge. The Giants’ defensive line is getting thinner with injuries. With D.J. Davidson doubtful and Rakeem Nunez-Roches out (neck/shoulder), coach Brian Daboll said on Friday that practice squad players Casey Rogers and Elijah Garcia got more defensive line reps this week.

So did defensive end Jordon Riley and defensive tackle Cory Durden, whom the Giants signed on Monday from the Rams’ practice squad.

But Chatman is likely to see a chunk of those snaps, as he did on Thanksgiving in Dallas after Lawrence was hurt. He played 48 snaps against the Cowboys, the most of his career, and his coaches spoke highly of his growth since training camp.

“He’s a powerful, explosive kid,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “So when he’s able to get out of his stance and get going, he’s got some length to him despite being a little bit shorter. He went in there last week . . . him and Jordon really had to finish the game for us.

“He’s going to have opportunities this week a little bit more on first and second down just because where we’re at.”

Chatman’s challenge won’t be his motor but his size. At 6 feet, he’s shorter than most defensive tackles, and Bowen has used him more in third-down passing situations than in stopping the run.

However, there’s faith he can handle a greater challenge. For defensive line coach Andre Patterson, his message to Chatman was: Don’t be Lawrence. Be you.

“Sometimes [rookies] outsmart themselves and they see other guys do things on film and go, ‘Oh, I want to try to do that,’ ” Patterson said. “Well, it’s not you. You got to continue to be you in the gifts that God gave you as a player.

“Sometimes [Chatman] just gets into the being explosive and powerful and leaves the quick part out of it. But he needs all three of those elements to be the player that he can be.”

It’s a reminder of why Chatman found hope through his spiritual journey. When he came out of SMU, teams overlooked him because of his size, but he believed he could make an impact somewhere and let his prayers fuel his attention to his craft.

That trust was validated during the viral preseason moment in which he chased down Texans running back J.J. Taylor over 40 yards to bring him down. He’s also appeared in every game this season.

Faith, however, is dead without works. Chatman knows being detailed, for example, helped as much as his confidence.

It meant watching Lawrence prepare during warmups by slowly taking the same steps he would in a game to refine his timing. It also meant listening to veteran lineman Nunez-Roches give advice on proper recovery after a game.

One of those nuggets: Don’t overthink when things go wrong. It’s going to happen at some point, so minimize them but learn from them.

“As a young player, sometimes you try to do everything so right and be so correct when that’s not always the best thing,” Nunez-Roches said. “You got to let it go and allow yourself to make mistakes, too.”

It could happen on Sunday if Chatman gets more reps. But at the same time, it’s part of the opportunity he prayed for. Nobody expects him to replace Lawrence’s production.

Yet faith means do the work — your work — and see what happens. That’s what guided Chatman to the point that he could have his biggest role yet this season.

“[The veterans] make sure we are prepared, especially when a situation like this comes into place,” Chatman said. “I can say that a lot of the little nuggets that they’ve given me specifically has prepared me to go out on the field and just play.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.