Some believe the Colts reached on Justin Walley in the 2025 NFL Draft but he might end up being one of the biggest steals

Justin Walley was on multiple teams' radar in the third round

One of the first messages I got after the Colts' selection of Walley was announced was from a scout that I've built a strong relationship with over the years. He shared that he and the team he works for were gutted to see Walley go ahead of them, "Colts took our guy (Walley)," he said. "We were so sure he was ours this round." After hearing that, I reached out to a few other scouts around the league and discovered that another team also had Walley in their sights and they were planning on drafting him in the third round if he made it to their pick. I even found a team that heavily considered taking him with their pick, which was before the Colts in the third round, but ultimately went in a different direction. So, whether people were shocked by it or not, Walley was always going to hear his name called no later than the third round. 

While the fan base was in shock the Colts' draft room was ecstatic to land Walley

After the draft, the Colts released a new episode of their "Behind The Colts" series titled Draft Part 2 on YouTube. This showed some behind-the-scenes work the team did on their draft picks prior to turning in the cards. For Walley, it showed his meeting with the team at the Scouting Combine and also showed just how much Ballard wanted him. "I love him," said Ballard, "he is the one guy that if we don't get him, I won't be in a good mood." A source in the Colts building went even further on the subject to share how stressed it was waiting to see if Walley made it to pick 80. 

"He was a guy that we couldn't believe wasn't getting second round or even late first round love. You don't find guys like him (Walley) with great balls skills, off the charts toughness, and a natural leader that anyone who has ever coached him, or played with him has nothing negative to say. I don't know if we sweated more sitting and waiting to make our pick of Tyler (Warren) or Justin (Walley) but I for sure needed a new shirt after waiting for both." 

In his post-day two of the draft presser, Ballard shared in more detail why he and the team were so high on Walley, even if others weren't. "Hes freaking good" Ballard exclaimed, "We're talking about a 40 game starter in the BIg 10. The USC game is what did it for me. At the end of the USC game, he made some game-winning stops in coverage." Another significant element noted by Ballard was Walley's toughness, which he explained by saying, "He broke his wrist and in a time where people don't want to work out (at the combine), we have guys ducking it, he does everything. And he runs a 4.37 with a cast on his wrist." 

Something I've learned quickly about Walley since the draft is that if you talk to anyone with the Colts or at Minnesota, they concur with Ballard on his toughness. He showed it in the pre-draft process, as Ballard noted, but he has also shown it throughout his entire football career. If you don't want to take Ballard's word for it, maybe you will believe Walley's Co-DC and CB coach at Minnesota, Nick Monroe. 

Justin Walley's unreal display of toughness at Minnesota 

"The kid is a five-star and first-rounder all day, just on his character, his work ethic, his heart, his soul. We were truly not shocked to see him go in the third round, honestly, we all thought he would go higher." Those were the words Monroe shared with me about the consensus around the NFL Draft world being so shocked by the Colts selecting Walley in the third round. 

Monroe and the rest of Minnesota's coaching staff trusted Walley tremendously. He was a captain for a reason, and Monroe shared with me in more detail how Walley earned so much trust on and off the field. 

"Well, number one, he is a flat-out competitor. I mean, when that guy straps it on and comes out pregame. There is that comfortability level. As a coach, you're just, you can breathe, you know that, oh, number five is playing today. I know we're good, then. He has that composure, that demeanor, and he knows he is a competitive son of a gun, and he is going to go out there and run with anybody. He won't get bullied around, and he can strap anyone up. He is so tough, I cannot put into words how tough that kid is. I think that's the thing a lot of Colts fans probably don't know is about how tough he is. Gosh dang it. He is so tough that honestly separates him from everybody nowadays, because it's hard to find this kind of young man that just completely sacrifices their body and puts it on the line day in and day out, and Justin (Walley) is as tough as I've ever been around."

- Minnesota Co-DC and CB Coach Nick Monroe speaking on why it was so easy to trust Justin Walley

Yet again, Walley's toughness is being applauded. I asked Monroe if there was a single moment on or off the field during his time working with Walley that he could share that would paint the complete picture for fans on his toughness. Monroe had a story, alright, and it might have the Colts and their fans ready to run through a wall after they hear it. 

"This year, when we were playing USC, he had been sidelined for two and a half weeks, three weeks, we'll call it. He had did something to his knee, nothing major, didn't require surgery, but it was serious enough where, he couldn't run, he could barely walk, and he had been out for three weeks. He wasn't even practicing yet and I just remember like it was yesterday. The sun was coming down over the stadium, you could see the city in the background, it was like a scene out of a movie. It's pre-game, and he was attempting to give it a go, he had suited up and everything. I'm just looking around going, Man, what a magical night this is going to be. And he looks over at me and says, 'I'm playing!'

I'm like yeah, right sure you are, and he said 'No, I'm playing tonight.' I'm like, dude, come on you haven't even walked straight without a hitch for the last couple weeks like you're not playing. He's like, 'No, I really can do this.' And I could tell he was serious, you could just read it on his face. So the head coach, trainers and I all consulted, and we decided to let him go out and play. He looked all of us in the eye and assured us that he knew he could do it.

And I'm not kidding you, USC has got some beasts out there running around at receiver, both outside and in the slot, and Wally absolutely strapped them and dominated them, and that's no disrespect to them. He went out there on one leg and did his thing. You don't see that every day, and the kid knew the risks. There's a lot of risk in doing that, where, if he goes out there and he gets embarrassed and gets annihilated, that could be detrimental to his future. I mean, scouts are going to see this, NFL organizations are going to see this, opponents are going to see this, and they're going to think, wow, he's not that good of a player. But that's the kind of human being he is, he risked all that and said, No, I'm going to do this for my team. And that's the truth he did it for his teammates because he had felt like he let the squad down for not being out there while injured. And just looking back, USC had a two-minute drill situation to win the game, and on that drive alone, Wally had three pass breakups, it was crazy to watch, and he tackled his tail off on top of it.

He already had a cast on his wrist; he's basically playing all season long with one arm, one hand. Now you take a leg away from him, too, and the guy goes out there and just performs at an elite level, dominates, and helps us beat the number 11 team in the country on a storybook ending type of night. When he did that. I was like, this is as tough of a competitor and as tough of a player as I've ever been around. I'll tell that story forever to future players, future families, and to anybody who wants to hear about what toughness truly is and what it means to lay it all on the line for your family and teammates." 

- Nick Monroe gives an example on Justin Walley's toughnes 

The USC game, the same game Chris Ballard said was THE game that sold him on Walley. The fact that Walley was far from 100% and was able to not only hurt his draft stock but also win over an NFL GM is a pretty remarkable feat. This story from Monroe doesn't mean Walley is a shoo-in to make it in the NFL by any means, but it does say he isn't a guy you should ever bet against.

Nick Monroe sees similarities between Justin Walley and Colts LB Zaire Franklin who he saw up close coaching at Syracuse

Monroe joined Minnoesta in 2023 as their Co-DC & CB coach, where he coached Justin Walley for the past two seasons. Before that, he spent seven seasons at Syracuse as their secondary coach from 2016 to 2022. Which means he was at Syracuse with now Colts defensive captain Zaire Franklin for the final two years of his college career. Monroe worked directly with the team's corners and safeties, so that didn't include a linebacker like Franklin. That didn't stop the two from forming a relationship that still remains strong today, and there are characteristics that Monroe sees in Walley that he also saw in Franklin that have helped him become a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the Colts. 

One of the similarities he sees between the two is a key character trait he saw in both. He explained this by saying, "The guys that are great human beings, that have hearts, that have souls, that truly care about others and put others before themselves. Those guys seem to always, one way or another, turn out to have success." Franklin and Walley were both voted captains on defenses that Monroe was on the coaching staff for. Being named captain is quite the honor, and Monroe saw firsthand how both earned that title. 

"I think at the end of the day, when you rub up against another human being, right? You're going to leave some form of residue, you're going to leave a stain. Is it a positive stain, or is it a negative stain? Both of those guys (Walley & Franklin), wherever they're at, they will always make people around them better. And that's the thing they have, the similarity and the capability of doing. And now the Colts have multiplied that by two by putting them in the same locker room, on the same side of the ball. That could be a beautiful thing, right there could be a real beautiful thing."

- Nick Monroe on what made Zaire Franklin and Justin Walley worthy of being captains