Chris Ballard called up Ryan Day on Friday to pick the Ohio State Buckeyes head coach's brain on a few players, prime among them defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau. And while Ballard was doing his due diligence, so was Day.
"I'm trying to figure out why he didn't go in the first round," Day wondered in his conversation with the Colts' general manager.
"We had a good grade on him," Ballard said, "but (Day) was pretty effusive with his praise."
Tuimoloau ripped off 12.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for a loss during a dominant senior season for the championship-winning Buckeyes in 2024. At 6-foot-4 and 264 pounds, and with some high-end athletic traits, Tuimoloau's blend of top-level production and athleticism felt more than worthy of a first-round pick to his college coach.
For the Colts, though, getting Tuimoloau in the second round was an ideal outcome to begin Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Later in the night, the Colts jumped at the chance to draft Minnesota cornerback Justin Walley with the 80th overall pick in the third round.
And while Day had questions about why Tuimoloau wasn't a first-round pick, Ballard later Friday answered questions about why Walley was a third-round pick instead of hearing his name called at some point on Day 3.
But here's the thing with the NFL Draft, especially as it presses on past the first 50 or so picks: There's nothing close to a consensus on certain prospects. One team might have a player graded in the third-round range while another might view him as a seventh-round pick. Or, in the case of respected draft media analysts, there could be a massive gap in evaluations: The Athletic's Dane Brugler had a sixth-round grade on Walley, while NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah had him ranked 94th on his big board – well within the range of being a third-round pick.
Ballard highlighted Walley's "speed, toughness, instincts – he's got good ball skills," as well as the 5-foot-10 cornerback's competitiveness in explaining why the Colts valued him at pick No. 80.
"I don't care where everybody thinks they're going to go – I don't," Ballard said. "We grade them and we take them. We think he's got a chance to be a really good starting corner in this league."
Tuimoloau and Walley, notably, have a few things in common. Both have extensive starting experience in the Big Ten: Tuimoloau started 41 games for Ohio State, while Walley started 42 for Minnesota. And they've each had plenty of production in their careers: Tuimoloau totaled 23.5 sacks and 43.5 tackles for a loss for the Buckeyes, and Walley had 34 passes defensed (seven interceptions, 27 pass break-ups) with the Golden Gophers.
Along with Tyler Warren – another hyper-productive Big Ten player – the Colts have unintentionally had a regional focus in this year's draft (although the Big Ten is, well, hardly a regional league anymore).
"I wish I could say that was some master plan, but it just kind of worked out that way," Ballard said. "And look, I mean, the Big Ten, I think it was proven. I mean, that's really good football. I mean, you've got the national champion (Ohio State). You had Penn State playing in the playoffs. So, it's excellent football. Minnesota had a good football team. It just kind of worked out that way."
Notably, too, Tuimoloau will turn 22 on May 10 while Walley will turn 23 a few weeks into his rookie season. Usually, players with 40-plus starts at the college level are older prospects – think 24- or 25-year-old rookies. The relative youth both players lends itself to a higher ceiling than some older prospects.
"These are experienced players, and they're not older, like they're younger," Ballard said. "They're young by age, which is a little unique in this year's draft. There are guys up that are turning 24/25 years old. There was one thing I kind of peeked at. I said, 'Man, these guys played a lot of football, but they're still under the age of 23."
Another thing Tuimoloau and Walley have in common is an unclear path to starting as rookies – but that's not a bad thing.
The Colts' defensive end depth chart is highlighted by two former first-round picks (Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu) and two respected veterans (Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis). Tuimoloau will compete for playing time with some established guys, but having a deep defensive line rotation is critically important to the Colts, especially with Dayo Odeyingbo leaving to sign with the Chicago Bears in free agency.
"We've got a good group," Ballard said. "And look, Dayo was a really good football player, which the market ended up showing, least from what he got paid. He did a lot of great things for us. You can never have enough. I mean you just can't, especially as the season gets – it's 17 games. I mean I know that's kind of a – everybody just kind of blinks at it, but I mean that's a long season. I mean, you got to have as many defensive linemen that can. (You) can ever have enough rushers."
At cornerback, the Colts aggressively targeted veteran Charvarius Ward in free agency and return one of the NFL's better slot cornerbacks in Kenny Moore II. At the other outside corner spot, 2023 seventh-round pick Jaylon Jones has proven to be a tremendous Day 3 find, and the Colts haven't given up on 2023 second-round pick JuJu Brents, either.
"The more good players you have in the room, the chance they all have a chance to get better and compete and help," Ballard said. "And look, at some point you're going to need them all."
And that's maybe the best point to re-iterate here: Maybe drafting Tuimoloau and Walley didn't fill positional needs. But they'll compete for playing time, and that pushes forward the need for increased competition across the roster Ballard extolled back in January.
"There's got to be some stress. There has to be," Ballard said a few days after the 2024 season ended. "There has to be real stress within that locker room, an uncomfortability that if I don't play well enough, my (butt) will not be on the field playing."
Tuimoloau and Walley will almost certainly play at some point in 2025, perhaps significantly. They'll have to compete to earn those snaps. And from a roster building standpoint, there's nothing wrong with adding competition – especially when doing so is a major emphasis for the Colts in 2025.
