Day 2: Ballard Plays it Safe, Maybe Too Safe
Both DE Tuimoloau and CB Walley are Solid Players Who Lack Great Attributes
JT Tuimoloau
Height
6’4¼
Weight
265
Forty
DNR, est. 4.60
Positions played in 2024
631 at ER, 27 at DE, 6 at DT, 42 on ST
Positions played in 2023
666 at ER, 6 at DE, 4 at D, 53 on ST
Stats for 2024
38 tackles, 12 assists, 6 missed tackles, 21½ TFL, 2 forced fumbles, 7 sacks, 14 QB hits, 22 hurries, 1-1-13-0-0 in coverage, 1/0 penalty
Stats for 2023
23 tackles, 10 assists, 5 missed tackles, 7 TFL, 1 fumble recovery, 5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 29 hurries, 2-1-11-0-0 in coverage, 3/1 penalties
Bio
Long-suffering Colts fans might be delighted with this pick. Instead of grabbing another toolsy edge guy with no college production, their team selected a productive rusher who has limited tools. The drawback is that, while he might be a solid player right away, there’s less chance that he’ll be truly special.
Tuimoloau (pronounced TOO-ee-mo-lo-ow) grew up playing basketball and baseball in Seattle, but found his talent on the football field. A four-year letterman at DE and TE (and basketball), he was a five-star recruit. Was heavily sought after, especially in his home state, but chose Ohio State after feeling “at home” on the campus.
Bursting out of a four-point crouch, he was very productive in college, despite facing frequent double teams.
Don’t be fooled by his size – Tuimoloau is much happier outside the tackles, and is not really an inside option.
Considered more of a high floor-low ceiling type than many previous Colts’ draft picks at the position, Tuimoloau might not be the bendiest, but his great football intelligence, discipline and determination end up in a lot of positive snaps.
2024 First-Team All-Big Ten, 2023 Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten and 2022 First-Team All-Big Ten.
Strengths
Excellent coordination, solid use of hands and knows how to use his long arms for leverage, stays low, great build, never gives up, has superior power, tough and durable.
Weaknesses
Not that bendy or truly agile, lateral movement is not tops, stats inflated by clean-up sacks, can be redirected by big Ts, wasn’t asked to do anything complex at OSU.
NFL comparison
Sam Hubbard
Where he begins
I expect he will eventually fill the role formerly occupied by Dayo Odeyingbo of a big rusher who can play on any down without much adjustment. But, unlike Odeyingbo, you really shouldn’t be seeing him inside very often. You’ll see Tuimoloau at the 7 most of the time, with some 5 and Wide 9, but not very often between the B gaps.
He’ll open camp behind Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, Laiatu Latu and Tyquan Lewis, but should be able to earn playing time once the games are for real, and will keep fighting as long as he’s playing.
Justin Walley
Height
5’10
Weight
190
Forty
Combine, 4.40 electronic, 4.41 handheld
Positions played in 2024
674 at CB, 27 at OLB, 25 at SCB, 2 at ER, 2 at FS, 1 at SS, 89 on ST
Positions played in 2023
442 at CB, 35 at OLB, 35 at SCB, 15 at SS, 13 at FS, 9 at ER, 44 on ST
Stats for 2024
38 tackles, 4 assists, 10 missed tackles, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 2 hurries, 55-23-395-1-2 in coverage (8-3-38-0-0 in the slot), 5 PBU, 3/0 penalties
Stats for 2023
46 tackles, 2 assists, 4 missed tackles, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 hurry, 58-33-466-5-1 in coverage (2-1-13-0-0 in the slot), 5 PBU, 4/0 penalties
Bio
No offense to Walley, who’s a fine prospect, but someone is going to have to explain to me why he was the Colts’ selection in the third. The first thing that sticks out is that with Ward, Jones, Moore and Womack already in the fold, the Colts didn’t really need a CB, especially an undersized outside guy with no real experience at SCB or S and who has some tackling issues. I mean, Kevin Winston went two picks later, and Caleb Ransaw just a few picks after that, not to mention solid prospects at G, DT and LB.
Anyway.
Raised in an extraordinarily athletic family in Mississippi, Walley started playing football at age 6. Playing CB and HB in high school, he was also a track star, running the 100, 200 and 400. A three-star recruit, he chose Minnesota because his brother, Jaden, was making a name for himself at Mississippi State. Walley chose not to play in Minnesota’s bowl game.
There’s a lot to like about Walley. A four-year starter at Minnesota, he’s well known for aggressive, in-your-face play that is tempered with great football IQ and feel for the game, as well as speed. But his coverage stats range from outstanding in 2022 (47-28-265-0-3) to meh in 2023 to pretty good in 2024. And he has his ups and downs. In 2024, while he was excellent in coverage against Maryland (9-4-66-0-1 with 2 PBU) and USC (9-4-40-0-0 with 3 PBU), he was awful against Rutgers (6-3-101-0-0). An aside: he did not cover Tyler Warren when the Gophers played Penn State.
He gets more done that his size would lead one to expect, but is not a solid tackler.
In 2024: Second Team All-Big Ten and in 2023: Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
Strengths
Exceptionally tight in man coverage, especially on short and intermediate routes, does many little things correctly, great short-area burst, annoys and pesters receivers, fears no one, will diagnose the run and throw himself at it, smart kid with leadership skills.
Weaknesses
Has a hard time recovering from missteps, is not a reliable tackler, and will miss far too many (probably precluding a future at S), size is an issue, willing to fight for contested catches but can be bullied, not considered a special-teams guy, grabby style could be a problem in the NFL.
NFL comparison
A faster Taron Johnson
Where he begins
Lots of draft people predicted a move inside for Walley, which could well happen, but the Colts will try him outside first, and move him inside if he doesn’t seem like he’ll work out wide. Either way, he’ll have to fight for every snap he can get. The outside crew of Charvarious Ward, Jaylon Jones and Samuel Womack are a potent set of guys, and Kenny Moore is the man in the slot, so he won’t get too much work as a rookie unless there’s an injury.
The Colts had room for a fifth CB, but I don’t know why they selected the position or the player that high.