He played college football for the USC Trojans, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Cravens played the linebacker position during his rookie year with the team, before moving full time to strong safety the following season.

However, Cravens announced his decision to retire just before the season began, and was placed on the team's reserve list as a result.

After undergoing treatment for post-concussion syndrome, Cravens later announced his intention to return to the Redskins, but was traded to the Denver Broncos during the 2018 offseason.

with 15 touchdowns on offense, as Vista Murrieta went 14–0 and captured the CIF Inland Division title with a 35–28 win over perennial powerhouse Corona Centennial.

[5] Cravens chose the Trojans over offers from nearly every BCS program in the nation, including Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State.

Cravens returned for his third year as a starter, again playing strongside outside linebacker (a hybrid safety-linebacker role) as a junior in 2015.

He posted 86 tackles (46 solo), eight passes defensed, five sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles his junior season.

After completing his junior season at the University of Southern California in 2015, he opted to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL draft.

[7] Cravens started 40 games for the Trojans and recorded 206 tackles (133 solo, 33.5 for a loss), 25 passes defensed, 10 sacks, nine interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and three forced fumbles during his collegiate career.

[8] Source:[9] Upon entering the draft, Cravens was projected in the NFL as a hybrid linebacker-safety, being compared to the Arizona Cardinals' Deone Bucannon.

[14] During offseason practices and training camp, Cravens played a majority of snaps from the inside linebacker position.

[15] Cravens appeared in 11 games, with three starts, in 2016, posting 33 tackles (23 solo), one sack, one interception, five passes defensed and one special-teams stop.

Another cousin, Colby Cameron, was a quarterback at Louisiana Tech (2009–2012) before signing with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

With family roots from Samoa, Cravens is a distant cousin of former Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te'o.