The Indianapolis Colts had the 29th-ranked defense in the NFL in 2024. That means that not only do they need help this year, they also can’t take on water.
In the third-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they seemed to get help when they drafted Justin Walley out of the University of Minnesota. Some expected him to contribute right away, but that’s certainly not going to happen now.
Walley went down in Tuesday’s training camp practice with what we now know is a torn ACL. It’s terrible news and as one could imagine, he’s finished for the year.
“Huge blow,” head coach Shane Steichen said. “I think he was having a hell of a camp. His man coverage skills were great, he was making a ton of plays in practice too before it happened.”
Justin Walley injury leaves the Colts awfully thin at cornerback
Walley wasn’t just counted on to contribute this year, he was actually thought of as a potential starter. Walley had worked alongside Kenny Moore II and Charvarius Ward taking first-team reps this offseason and he was competing with Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents for a starting job. By the way, Jones and Brents are both dealing with hamstring injuries.
Now, it’s training camp and guys get nicked up, so there isn’t necessarily cause for alarm with the hamstring issues. However, one can’t help but see that this unit is dangerously thin.
And, the Colts were 25th in the NFL last year in passing yards given up. Is that all on the secondary? Absolutely not. When you give up 4,142 yards through the air in a season, there are a couple of things to keep an eye on. How good is the pass rush (not good, they were tied for 8th in the league in sacks with the Cincinnati Bengals with 36)? How good is your own offense? If you’re putting up pinball numbers (spoiler alert: the Colts didn’t), teams are probably going to throw a lot even if it’s in garbage time.
That, of course, doesn’t absolve the secondary and Walley’s absence is absolutely going to heap a lot of pressure on the rest of the defense.
Colts still believe in Justin Walley
Tom Gorski of the Sporting News writes that while the Colts are certainly disappointed in the injury, they still have confidence in him moving forward. Hopefully for Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard, they’ll still be around to see Walley blossom.
“At Minnesota, Walley was one of the most reliable guys in the Big Ten’s secondary,” Gorski writes. “He played all four years under coach P.J. Fleck got better every season. In his senior year, Walley had 42 tackles, two picks (one he ran back for a touchdown), and a sack. He helped the Gophers finish 7-5. Coaches always said he worked hard, led the team, and handled the best receivers well.
“Even with the injury, the Colts still believe in him. He showed he’s smart, competitive, and knows the game. They think he’ll do what it takes to get through rehab and come back stronger. While he’s out, he’ll still be part of the team.”
In the long term, Walley will probably be fine, the Colts have been very high on him since they drafted him. In the short term, the Colts have some scrambling to do.
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