PHILADELPHIA — This one wasn't expected.

When guesses were being made as to what player would start opposite Malcolm Jenkins at safety for the Eagles this season, there were plenty of guesses.

None of them was Walter Thurmond.

As the Eagles finished their first OTA, Thursday, and Chip Kelly spoke to the media the biggest news to come out was that Thurmond, the free agent from Seattle, was now a safety.

"I've played it in practice, but never in a game,'' Thurmond said. "In this defense, though, it's not much different than playing in the nickel.''

Thurmond played nickel in Seattle before moving to the Giants last year where he tore his pectoral in the season opener and missed the rest of the season.

"It was a couple weeks ago, just after the draft, they asked me how I would feel about moving to safety,'' Thurmond said. "They said I could stay and compete at corner, or I could move to safety and compete there. After drafting three corners, even though some of them might be safeties, they thought it would be better for me at safety.

TIM TEBOW:

I've gotten better

"I'm good with it. I just want to play.''

Thurmond, at 5-11, 190, doesn't have ideal safety size. But in the Eagles' scheme and in today's NFL size doesn't matter as much as being able to cover.

"It won't be much different than being the nickel, walking down and covering the guy in the slot,'' Thurmond said. "With the way offenses are, especially in this division, they almost all use three wide receivers. You need a different look now, you need your safeties to be like corners.''

Malcolm Jenkins, who also began his career at cornerback after playing corner at Ohio State, echoed those sentiments when he said the Eagles basically play with four cornerbacks in the secondary.

"He's right,'' Thurmond said. "That's just the way it is.''

Follow Mark Eckel on Twitter at @MarkEckel08. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.Contact Mark Eckel at mjeck04@verizon.net.

