INDIANAPOLIS — The play is burned into Lou Anarumo’s brain.
Colts cornerback Justin Walley was matched up against Baltimore’s Rashod Bateman in one-on-one coverage. Ravens superstar Lamar Jackson noticed the matchup at the line of scrimmage, gave Bateman a signal and then Bateman ran an out-and-up, a double move that should have left the rookie cornerback in no man’s land, eyes in the backfield.
Walley didn’t bite. The Minnesota product matched Bateman, ran with him downfield and punched the ball away.
“OK, we got one,” Anarumo remembers thinking to himself.
Three plays later, a torn ACL took Walley away from the Colts for the entire season, the first of two season-ending injuries to rookies who were expected to play critical roles in the Indianapolis defense. The Colts lost strong safety Hunter Wohler to a Lisfranc injury a week later.
“If Hunter and Walley do not get hurt, they play major roles last year,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “Unequivocally.”
But the impression that Walley left on the coaching staff hasn’t faded.
Indianapolis is betting heavily on the 2025 third-round pick even though he still hasn’t played a snap in an NFL game, and even though he doesn’t have a whole lot of history at the position he’s expected to play this fall.
With Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward expected to start on the outside, Walley’s the favorite to take over the nickel, a spot that has been manned by Kenny Moore II for the past nine seasons.
“This year, they’ve emphasized me being on the inside a little bit more,” Walley said. “Wherever they put me, I’m ready to go.”
Before the ACL injury, Walley was headed for a starting spot on the outside, the position he played for most of his college career.
Walley’s size — he measured 5-10, 190 pounds at the 2025 NFL scouting combine, with arms a little less than 31 inches long — traditionally is a better NFL fit in the slot.
He simply hasn’t played it much to this point.
The lack of experience hasn’t given Indianapolis much reason for pause so far. Not only have the Colts spent most of their time stockpiling outside cornerbacks — allowing Walley to move inside — but Indianapolis granted Moore’s request for a release after trying to trade the veteran this offseason.
Indianapolis likely wouldn’t be so willing to move on from a franchise cornerstone if the Colts did not believe Walley could fill the Moore-sized hole at a critical playmaking role in Anarumo’s defense.
“It could be really special,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “I mean, he’s got great movement skills, he’s really sticky in coverage. Very cerebral too, he’s a smart player – understands leverage, understands coverages, matchups, all those different things.”
Walley’s youth, speed and ability to play man-to-man coverage are the reasons the Colts were comfortable with betting on a second-year cornerback coming off an ACL tear to replace a player like Moore. While Moore’s instincts and knack for finding the ball remain top-notch, he is no longer a fit for a defense that wants to play a heavy dose of man-to-man.
The smarts will be the key to Walley making the move count.
For simplicity’s sake, an outside cornerback has less to consider than his teammate playing inside, especially in a scheme expected to rely heavily on man-to-man. In the system Anarumo wants to play, an outside cornerback can be focused primarily on pressing the man in front of him, without much worry about the rest of the formation.
A slot cornerback has to deal with a lot of moving pieces.
“Outside is more coverage,” Walley said. “Inside, you’re in the run fits more. There’s a lot of different types of receivers on the inside, too, so you’ve got to be prepared for a whole different set of challenges.”
Walley will be expected to blitz, to set the edge against the run at times, to deal with traffic over the middle of the field as teams try to rub Colts cornerbacks off the receiver they’re shadowing in man-to-man.
Even the start of the snap is different. Because of the rules at the line of scrimmage, the slot almost always starts a step or two off the line, making it difficult to press a receiver the same way Ward and Gardner can be physical immediately on the outside.
Walley isn’t worried.
“It’s a lot harder because of the separation,” Walley said. “But you have techniques that help you with those situations.”
The knee is no longer an issue.
Walley was cleared to return to the practice field at the beginning of May, and he believes the rehabilitation of his ACL tear has made both legs stronger, a common refrain for players coming off the injury in a day and age when doctors have made strides in rehabilitation.
From here on out, it’s about proving Walley belongs in a secondary that already has a trio of big names. With Gardner and Ward on the outside, teams are going to attack Indianapolis over the middle.
Walley’s a critical part of Anarumo’s answer.
The Colts are betting heavily that he can be the answer inside.
“His body type says that, the way he moves says that,” Anarumo said. “His football IQ says that.”
Now, Walley simply has to prove it on the field, the way he was proving himself at this time last year.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Colts believe Justin Walley is the man to replace Kenny Moore despite ACL tear
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
