The Indianapolis Colts put together a special first half of the 2025 NFL season, but when Daniel Jones started to get injured, things started to go off the rails.
Indy will be hoping that in 2026, it can be a full season of goodness, rather than a painful collapse that required a Philip Rivers signing and some prayers.
With that in mind, and Week 1 just around the corner, it makes sense to start thinking about who will be the key players to determine the Colts' success.
Jones' return to health is crucial, of course. More growth from Tyler Warren at tight end would be great. A repeat special season from Alec Pierce after signing a big contract could matter.
But what about Justin Walley?
That's the guy that ESPN's Ben Solak named as the Colts' "X-Factor" for the season ahead. Casual Colts fans may not even have heard of him before.
But Solak, who often puts together brilliant, in-depth NFL takes for ESPN, certainly didn't pull this one out of thin air.
Solak actually admits at the start of his blurb that he nearly kept it simple and just named Sauce Gardner as the X-Factor.
Instead, he went deeper down the depth chart at cornerback.
"Walley might be the final puzzle piece in a secondary that can play man coverage with just about anyone," Solak writes. "Walley was a 2025 third-rounder out of Minnesota and a camp darling before a torn ACL in joint practices ended his rookie season before it even began."
Walley has drawn some attention this summer, including in the joint practice pictured atop the article against the New England Patriots .
The Colts didn't bring back Kenny Moore this offseason, potentially because of their belief in Walley.
"Sized for the slot, Walley steps into a role that Kenny Moore II held in Indianapolis for almost a decade," Solak writes. "But after training camp and preseason action, he looks like he can be a sticky cover man who allows defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to call more man coverage to feature the strength of his back seven — the cornerbacks."
And in the modern NFL, the slot corner is crucial. That's especially true in this particular Colts defense.
"The importance of these corners cannot be overstated," Solak writes. "The Colts' pass rush is worryingly thin, and they might start two rookie linebackers side-by-side behind that defensive line. If the corners can't make impact plays in coverage, Indianapolis' defense will have too many holes to cover up, and it will be forced to rely heavily on an offense that needs time to get healthy as quarterback Daniel Jones and receivers Alec Pierce and Josh Downs return to health."
Walley is originally from Mississippi and was a three-star recruit who chose to go to the Big Ten and play at Minnesota.
He was second-team All-Big Ten in 2024 and the Colts used the 80th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to take him.
He's the cousin of a former NFL cornerback, Dee McCann, and his brother (Jaden) played college wide receiver at Mississippi State.
Walley also ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash before his NFL Draft.
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