NFC Notes: Giants, Lions, Packers, Alim McNeill, Josh Jacobs

Giants

Giants undrafted DT Elijah Chatman has been one of the standouts of camp so far for New York. Regarding concerns about his height that knocked him out of the draft and caused the Seahawks to pass on signing him to a contract after a tryout, Chatman said DL coach Andre Patterson assured him they don’t care about those physical traits and were impressed by how they evaluated his skill level. 

“First day I got here for rookie minicamp, Coach Patterson brought me into his office and he told me, ‘Look, I don’t care about your height. I’ve seen your film, I know you can play, you’ve got pop to you,'” Chatman said via Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com. “He was letting me know, reassuring me that I was not here just to be a body. He was actually evaluating me and from that point on, I trusted him. Because I didn’t have many opportunities – I really didn’t have any opportunity like this one at all. I had to earn this, and the Giants were true to his word.”

Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown said they were enamored by Chatman’s quickness off the line of scrimmage.

“You look at what he can do, don’t focus what he can’t do,” Brown said. “Quickness off the ball. Him having twitch. And for a guy that’s sub 6-feet, just power. When he strikes a [tackling] bag, you almost feel the air kinda compress out of the bag. It sounds different.”

Lions

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Lions want to extend DT Alim McNeill before Week 1 starts. 

Packers

Packers HC Matt LaFleur said he’s already seen enough from RB Josh Jacobs to feel confident in how he’ll perform in their offense. 

“I’ve seen enough to be confident in him,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I just like his approach, his mentality. I can’t wait to see what happens in the game.”

Jacobs is eager to show Green Bay fans his versatility and how he can make plays in the passing game.

“I’m definitely excited to be able to showcase that,” Jacobs said. “I’m happy that I came here and they allowed me to showcase some of the things that I feel like I could do. Coach (is) trusting me to make plays and thankfully I’ve been making them in practice, so it makes it a little easier to call when the game comes. For me, it’s definitely a great opportunity. Like I say every day, I try to come in here and earn the respect of the guys and earn the respect of the coaches. It’s no better way to do that than doing it in a game. Hopefully, it turns out good.”