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Safety last: Redskins’ Cravens transitions to safety

Posted at 10:35 AM, Aug 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-07 10:35:05-04

RICHMOND, Va. - While some Redskins defenders make their moves before training camp practice, one player is making one big move during practice.

Su'a Cravens at Redskins training camp

"It feels like I’ve played sort of a version of the position throughout my college career and a little bit last year, but it definitely feels good to be a solid, set position,” Su'a Cravens said.

Cravens, Washington's second round draft pick a year ago, is transitioning from linebacker to safety. So the ball-hawking defender who didn't really have a position now has a position that puts him in position to make plays.​

"We drafted him and we had visions of him being a safety, but he had never done it really," Redskins head coach Jay Gruden admitted. "We put him at the linebacker spot and tried to blitz him, tried to use him around the football, and then this year we wanted to branch him off and play safety once he learned the system and how the NFL works.​"

"It allows me to make decisions to make decisions on balls in the air, and it ultimately allows me to be a playmaker and I like that,” Cravens revealed.

And playmakers come in all sizes. So even if you're too big or too small, the NFL will find a fit on the field.​

"You need guys that are bigger than corners but smaller than linebackers that can move and be athletic in open space to guard them," Cravens explained. "I think guys like me coming from college, they’re starting to produce what you need, that ‘tweener’ role that’s kind of exactly what you need for the NFL, so it’s pretty good.”​