I may have gotten a few things right with my Seattle Seahawks' roster projections, but I had some big misses as well. The biggest came along the defensive line, where I thought Mike Macdonald would want to add true nose tackles like he had in Baltimore.
It turns out that he cut his biggest young interior defenders in Brandon Pili and Quinton Bohanna, preferring to keep rangy edge rushers Jared Ivey and Connor O’Toole instead.
But that still leaves Seattle a little understaffed in the middle of the defensive line, especially as long as rookie Rylie Mills remains on the NFI list. In fact, Mills is joined on that non-football injury reserve list by the Hawks’ largest player, veteran tackle Johnathan Hankins.
Seattle Seahawks should try to sign Elijah Chatman
With that in mind, and since Macdonald does not appear to be prioritizing traditional nose tackle size, I’ll make a different suggestion at defensive tackle. On Tuesday, in a bit of a surprise move, the New York Giants released 2024 UDFA Elijah Chatman.
Chatman played college ball at SMU, where he proved to be a dynamic force rushing the passer from inside. Despite solid production, NFL teams weren’t quite sure where he slotted into a pro defense given his unique physical attributes.
At 6’0”, 278 pounds, Chatman would appear to be too small to play defensive tackle. But his rare athleticism helps him overcome the size limitations. His power lifting and bench press numbers are through the roof. 42 bench press reps is entering Aaron Donald territory. He also has exceptional lower-body power and very good short-area quickness.
Chatman’s lack of length can be a problem when trying to corral pro runners or getting leverage on massive interior linemen, and he cannot be an every-down player. But the power that he has can be difficult to contain because of that very lack of bulk and exceptional quickness.
The Giants were running him with their starters through much of the preseason and he seemed very much at home. But the Giants, for all their offensive woes, have a very stout defense – especially up front. Ultimately, Chatman could not crack the roster.
Mike Macdonald likes having a lot of pieces to move around on defense, and Chatman would give him a unique weapon. It would be fascinating to see how he might deploy a player like Chatman. As a bonus, Chatman is also capable of lining up in the backfield.
Seattle’s new offense plans to employ a fullback on many plays. The Hawks kept two such players in Robbie Ouzts and Brady Russell. They are almost certainly more skilled than Chatman in that role, but Chatman will give any defenders he runs at a lot of trouble.
Seattle may have more pressing holes to fill in the scramble after cutdown day, and the fact is, they may not need Elijah Chatman. But it sure would be fun to see him in a Hawks jersey.