2025 NFL Draft's biggest sleeper on defense will be late Day 3 steal who can make an impact year one

Minnesota CB Justin Walley is NFL Draft's biggest sleeper

Walley is a fourth-year senior out of Biloxi, Mississippi, who played significant snaps all four years for the Golden Gophers. A three-star recruit, Walley was very productive, especially on the ball.

The one thing that stood out more than anything is Walley's ball skills. He does a great job reading things in front of him and attacking the ball. What makes things really impressive with Walley is how quickly he moves his feet the second he sees something develop in front of him, which you can see below.

In his career, Walley has played 1,393 coverage snaps per Pro Football Focus, allowing 104 catches on 197 targets (52.8%) for 1,444 yards and eight touchdowns, while also intercepting seven passes and defending 16 passes (27 per Sports reference).

What's important when it comes to his ball skills is that Walley is comfortable in all areas. He can get turned around on occasion in his backpedal, but he's comfortable in just about any situation. He played really well against Maryland, including showing the ability to play with his back to the quarterback, playing through the hands to get the breakup.

His ball skills are great, as is his fluidity when he's transitioning in and out of breaks. He could be a little bit faster starting his transitions from time to time, but there is a lot of ability.

Tackling is something that stood out to me as a plus, but it's up-and-down. However, the effort is not. Over four seasons,  Walley has 25 missed tackles, but 10 of those came this past season, far and away the worst of his career. When I watch Walley, you can see the effort he shows in trying to tackle. He is willing to get physical and wrap up fitting the run like in the clip below, but it needs to be more consistent. His 4.40 40-yard dash speed helps him attack quickly when he sees things happen in front of him.

As much as I like and believe in the player, there are reasons why he is being viewed as a late day three guy. On the A to Z Consensus Board with everyone who does NFL Draft grades for the site, Walley is 193rd. He is a little too handsy in coverage with 12 called penalties in his career, and that could get worse in the NFL with their tighter penalty criteria.

Walley also takes the cheese a little too much. He can open his hips a little too quickly and can get spun around on breaking routes with a jab step to one side. That aggressiveness can also leave him prone to double moves. That will need to be honed in on at the next level.

Walley currently looks like a late day-three pick, but I think he should be in consideration to go as high as around pick 100. This is a player who can play inside and out with experience, athleticism, and ball skills. I will bet on that all day long.

Whoever takes Walley will end up getting a big steal.