Stampede Blue
In a 4 man battle for 1 starting spot, who will emerge? Will one of the two incumbent starters from most of last season hold onto the job? Will the injured Week 1 starter from last year win his job back? Or will the new shoot up the depth chart with a new Coordinator in town?
The question of who will line up on the opposite side of new Cornerback 1 Charvarius “Mooney” Ward in nickel (3 CB) sets is a big one for newly hired Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo. New Coordinators bring fresh eyes to incumbents, and sometimes want to bring in their “own guys”. Thus the deepest competition for a starting spot in the roster will ramp up at camp.
Jaylon Jones and Samuel Womack III represent the incumbents who had the most playing time in 2024 in former Coordinator Gus Bradley’s defense. While they both performed largely admirably for a second year 7th Round pick and an August waiver wire addition, there was inconsistencies as well. Jones in particular had some flashes of being a solid outside cornerback, but how much of that will translate in a very different coverage scheme remains to be seen.
The initial 2024 Cornerback 1 for the Colts also returns, with Indianapolis local JuJu Brents coming back for year 3. Unfortunately the 2023 2nd Round pick has dealt with a litany of injuries in his short career already, including most recently a torn meniscus and MCL in Week 1 that cost him nearly the entire 2024 season, and a groin injury in Week 18 that ended it after a brief return.
When healthy Brents has been impressive, showing strong playmaking on the ball, solid run defense, top end man coverage (albeit very small sample size), and high-end athleticism. But with just 11 Games Played so far in his career (and not all of them back at full health) it’s hard to count on the young CB to stay healthy.
The new Challenger for the 2nd cornerback spot: 2025 3rd Round Pick Justin Walley out of Minnesota. Walley flew under the radar for most of the pre-draft process, making the pick a big surprise to most analysts. Ballard isn’t one to follow NFL Draft media consensus all the time, with some of his surprise picks having varying results.
Still Walley brings an undersized frame that some expect to be best as a nickel or dime defender inside (which could be a future spot for him whenever longtime nickel Kenny Moore II departs from the Colts), but has remained an outside corner during his college career. The former Gopher overcame this smaller size with strong physicality, great speed and agility, and good technique. After mini-camp practices and OTAs, Head Coach Shane Steichen has been impressed with Walley.
Expect competition to be fierce between these 4 as the Colts try to figure out their Cornerback room. There isn’t a...
