Cornerback is arguably the most important room for this Indianapolis Colts defense this season, a room that needed so much help, and thankfully, they did improve it. The Colts signed star corner Charvarius Ward in free agency, and they hope he can return to form. Ward had a difficult season in 2024, but he was dealing with a death in his family and his mind was not (understandably) on football.
This room will not be dependent on his success, but it will be a huge part of it. He will be tasked with covering the WR on each team. Along with Ward as a newcomer the team welcomes Corey Ballentine and 3rd round pick Justin Walley. The team will also return surprise starter Jaylon Jones and Sam Womack. JuJu Brents will also return, and hopefully he can stay healthy this year and show us that talent that made him a high draft pick of this team in 2023.
The main battle I think we will see will be with Jaylon Jones and rookie Justin Walley. Let’s dive into the arguments for this one.
The Case For Jaylon Jones
I think the entire fan base would agree that Jones was the surprise of last season. He was terrific, and beat JuJu Brents out in training camp. Jones was a 7th round pick in 2023, and most players are happy to just make the team. He not only made the team, but he started 10 games his rookie season and all 17 games last season.
Like Justin Walley, he will be learning a new scheme, but he has earned the trust of this coaching staff, and Shane Steichen has raved about him. He has battled his way to starting cornerback for the team, and must think that he will continue that trend this season.
The Case For Justin Walley
It's hard for me to write too much good or bad about him, because all we have seen from him is minicamp highlights. If you take the coaching staff at their word, then he is going to make an early impact on this football team. For those that watched the pre-draft video content, you saw the “man crush” that Ballard had on Justin Walley.
Walley is that man-to-man coverage corner that will fit this defensive scheme perfectly. It also appears that he can play outside corner and inside corner. He can be expendable to this defense, but he still lacks the experience of his counterparts, Jaylon Jones and Kenny Moore. Walley will be a work in progress, but the early returns on him have been promising
Final Prediction
For all the faults of this staff, they have been consistent about one thing this offseason. That one thing was about competition and earning your spot. You could argue last season that was one of the nagging issues and caused some rift amongst the fanbase. Could Walley beat out Jones in training camp? Certainly, I think the overall body of work that Jones has shown has to be considered. He started as a 7th round pick all the way to a full-time starter. I think this could change throughout the season, but I do think will utilized Walley as the rotational defensive back and spot starter as needed, but Jones should have the starting job when they open camp, if he is healthy.