A healthy Justin Walley could be big piece of Colts defense in 2026

INDIANAPOLIS — A potential starting cornerback didn’t get to play a single snap for the Colts this season.

Justin Walley went down in the team’s first joint practice, tearing his ACL before Indianapolis played a preseason game, robbing the rookie of a chance to make an impact.

Out of sight, out of mind.

But it is worth noting Walley’s presence as the Colts head into an offseason where they face uncertainty at cornerback, both because of the difficult decision Charvarius Ward faces about his future and the team’s stated desire to get younger and faster on the defense.

Walley should not be forgotten. The third-round pick was headed for a starting job until he tore his ACL in Baltimore.

“You’re riding this high, everything’s going good, and then it’s like everything’s going too good, so something’s bound to happen,” Walley said. “At first, I was down on myself. It was tough.”

Walley was the frontrunner to start at outside cornerback opposite Ward, a development that shows exactly how much the Colts liked the rookie, considering how difficult it became for younger players to carve out roles on the defense the rest of the season.

“You all saw it in camp,” general manager Chris Ballard said. “Walley, he was playing really good football, and he got hurt in that practice, but up to that point, in that practice against Baltimore, against some pretty good wideouts, had held up really well. … We thought he had a high ceiling.”

Drafted because of his instincts, Walley was one of the stars of the offseason, absorbing defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s system quickly and making plays all over the field.

“I pick up things pretty easy,” Walley said.

The first major injury of the rookie’s career forced him to spend his rookie season learning from others.

Indianapolis had a trio of big veteran names — Ward, Xavien Howard and Sauce Gardner — join Kenny Moore II in the cornerback meeting room in 2025, and even though injuries kept that trio from living up to their prior accolades, Walley got to see how three guys who have been All-Pros see the game.

“I’ve learned more this year than I have my whole life of football,” Walley said.

The hard part is he must spend his offseason trying to get his physical capabilities back.

Walley is a burner, drafted to take on faster receivers, and his ability to change direction is critical for a player who can react to a throw on the fly.

A torn ACL obviously presents problems for a player with that kind of skill set.

But the injury is also not as catastrophic as it used to be. For more than a decade now, since Adrian Peterson won the MVP in his first year back, players have been shortening the recovery time for a torn ACL, and some believe they came back better than before.

Walley talked to a string of Colts who’ve been through the surgery.

Ashton Dulin, the veteran wide receiver and special teams star who tore his ACL during a joint practice in 2023, led a chorus of Colts with encouraging words for the rookie.

“They all helped me, they were like tearing their ACL helped them out in the long run,” Walley said. “You can put a couple extra years on the end of your career.”

That might seem counterintuitive.

But it is a byproduct of the knowledge teams and doctors now have about the recovery.

“The rehab is so intense,” Dulin said. “You kind of lose quad function a little bit, so when you’re rehabbing, you’ve got to get the quad back first, and with that comes the hamstring and stuff. … For nine months, you’re working lower body, and you come back stronger and faster.”

Walley has already gotten through the initial surgical recovery.

He will spend his offseason trying to get back the explosiveness and burst that marks his game.

“A lot of high-speed training, training where a lot of reaction is involved,” Walley said.

Walley believes he’ll be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

His versatility gives the Colts options in the offseason. If Ward decides to retire, Walley will likely be in the mix to fill his spot on the outside, and if Ward comes back, Walley could be a solution at several different spots, including the slot.

“By the time the ball’s back on the turf,” Walley said. “I’ll be ready to go.”

The Colts might need him more than anybody realizes.

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: A healthy Justin Walley could be big piece of Colts defense in 2026

A healthy Justin Walley could be big piece of Colts defense in 2026

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