2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Minnesota CB Justin Walley

From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Minnesota cornerback Justin Walley.

No. 2 Justin Walley/CB Minnesota – 5101, 190 pounds (Senior)

MEASUREMENTS

*Pro Day Results

THE GOOD

– Effective off-man and zone cornerback with aggressive eyes and quick trigger
– Plays bigger than size and good tackler
– Comes downhill and hits, plays run hard
– Athletic and gets depth in zone with ability to quickly close
– Finishes at catch point and able to make plays with back to football
– Willing to match up on tight ends over slot
– Productive with plus ball skills
– Shows long speed and can carry routes downfield
– Asked to blitz and can get home to the quarterback
– Chases ball with effort
– Highly experienced
– Tough and plays through pain

The Bad

– Slender and average frame
– Primarily played boundary side and didn’t operate in lots of space
– Struggles to stick at break point in tight-man coverage; allows too much separation
– Can fall off bigger running backs
– Prone to biting on play-action, needs better eye discipline
– Could be scheme-limited

Bio

– Turns 23 in September 2025
– 42 career college starts
– Career: 155 tackles (4 TFL) 34 PDs, 7 INTs, and 3 FFs
– 2024: 42 tackles (2 TFL), 12 PDs, and 2 INTs
– Three-star recruit from D’Iberville, Mississippi, chose Minnesota over Auburn, Colorado, Ole Miss, and several other schools
– Surprised some by choosing Minnesota and Mississippi coaches attempted to dissuade him (including by sending weekly weather reports); cited relationship with head coach PJ Fleck as reason to choose Minnesota
– Played RB and DB in high school, rushed for over 1,000 yards and picked off two passes senior year of HS; also part of track team
– Older brother Jaden played WR at Mississippi State, cites competition between two growing up as big influence
– Briefly played RB as freshman before making full-time move to defense
– Tore MCL in September 2024 and missed two games but returned to play

Tape Breakdown

Cold weather didn’t deter Mississippi’s Justin Walley from making the trip up north to Minnesota, where he became a solid starting corner for the team. Walley has an average build but plays bigger than his size, willing and able to hit in coverage and support the run.

In coverage, Walley makes plays in off-man and zone coverage. He reads the quarterback well and drives on the ball. Examples.

Negatively, he struggled in tight man coverage. He especially struggled against Penn State in 2024 and allowed too much separation at the break point.

That could limit his scheme-value to man-heavy teams at the next level. He also served primarily as a boundary corner and will have to learn to play in more space at the next level with the NFL’s more narrow hashes.

Though more evident on his 2023 tape, his aggressive eyes can get him into trouble. Against Drake Maye, he routinely bit on play-fakes. Top and bottom of the screen in the two clips.

Conclusion

Overall, Walley is a solid zone/off-man cornerback with aggression, tackling ability, and plus ball skills. In this draft class, he’s a poor man’s Maxwell Hairston from Kentucky. There’s a lot to like here with Walley, but he’s scheme-specific and lacks the high-end tools to wind up an every-down corner. A No. 3 is better suited for him, and there’s a skillset to have success in the slot, though his college reps there were limited.

My NFL comp is Tracy Porter. 

Projection: Late Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 7.2 – Fourth Round (Rotational Player)
Games Watched: at North Carolina (2023), vs North Carolina (2024), vs Maryland (2024), vs Penn State (2024)