As far as Justin Walley knew, he could be selected anywhere from the second to seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He really didn't know what to expect, so all he could do was wait for his phone to ring. He went back and forth between hoping he'd get that phone call on Friday night and tempering his expectations to stay patient for Saturday.
About halfway through the third round on Friday night, Walley's phone lit up. All of those thoughts went away. There was just one thing running through his mind as he saw "Indianapolis Colts" on his screen.
"It's gonna be today."
"It was surreal," the cornerback said. "It's something always growing up as a kid you see on TV, you always just think about that feeling, but when it actually happens it's a whole different level. It's probably the best experience of my life."
Walley stood out to Chris Ballard and the Colts for a variety of reasons; a four-year starter at Minnesota, Walley saw and did just about everything you could imagine a college cornerback could. He played in the slot and as an outside cornerback, saw a plethora of schemes and coverages and feels comfortable in all of it.
"I think that's kind of what makes me a little different," Walley said. "I can play corner, nickel, safety and I've played every single coverage you can play. I feel like I do that at a very consistent level, I feel like I've prepared myself to be able to go on the field and play all of those positions very consistent."
"He's athletic, he's fast, he can play outside and in," Ballard said. "Speed, toughness, instincts, got good ball skills. I think he's a really good football player."
In 49 games (42 starts), Walley recorded seven interceptions, 27 pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and 155 tackles. He was named a Freshman All-American in 2021, an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten player in 2023 and Second-Team All-Big Ten in 2024.
Walley joins a talented cornerback room featuring players like Charvarius Ward, Jaylon Jones and Kenny Moore II; Walley specifically pointed to Moore as someone he's always looked up to.
"I've been a fan of his ever since he been in the league," Walley said. "Any time you have a guy on the smaller side, under 5-foot-10, undrafted especially, to come into the league and be an all-star. He does things right. That's kind of the guys I look at, the kind of guys who do things right, and he's a guy that, even when teams ask me who I look at in the league, I always say him. He's always the guy that does a lot of things right. He can play any type of coverage you need him to, and he does it consistently. And that's kind of what I try to model my game after."
The addition of Walley opens up even more possibilities for the Colts and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, and Ballard said they plan to take full advantage of their talented cornerbacks room.
"The more good players you have in the room, the (better) chance they all have a chance to get better and compete," Ballard said. "And look, at some point you're going to need them all…at some point during the season, they're going to get thrown in a game in a crucial moment and have to play."
