With offseason programs now behind us, let’s take a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Indianapolis Colts. Next up are the cornerbacks.

If you missed our other positional reviews, you can find them below.

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide receivers
• Tight ends
• Offensive line
• Defensive tackles
• Defensive ends
• Linebackers
• Safeties

Charvarius Ward is a terrific fit for new-look Colts‘ defense

Beyond Ward’s ability to stuff the stat sheet from the cornerback position and the fact that he’s a former All-Pro, he is also a terrific fit for what Lou Anarumo wants to do schematically at this position.

Ward is comfortable covering a variety of wide receiver skill sets and working on an island. Depending on the opponent and what the matchup dictates, Anarumo has said that he is comfortable with having Ward follow the opposing top wide receiver over the course of a game.

Having a cornerback who can take away one side of the field then frees up Anarumo to deploy other defenders in different ways at the second and third levels, allowing him to throw a variety of looks at opposing offenses.

“He’s been a really good player,” said Anarumo of Ward. “A really consistent corner in our league for a long time. He can matchup on the best receivers, he’s got length, he guards bigger guys but he’s quick enough to handle short, faster guys, and he’s a good tackler. He’s a full package, for sure.”

Justin Walley is getting rave reviews

Walley went much earlier in the draft than what the consensus big boards anticipated. However, what drew the Colts to him was his speed, competitiveness, and fit within Anarumo’s defense. Indianapolis views Walley as a versatile player, which is key in such a disguise-heavy scheme, and he’s been sticky in coverage with that speed of his, and under Anarumo, we are going to see a lot more man coverage looks.

“He’s shown me he can be a dog,” Ward said of Walley after Thursday’s practice. “He can cover real well. He has some rookie mistakes, obviously he’s a young guy, but he’s been competing with all the big dogs on offense. I think he got that it factor in him. He confident in himself. He not scared. He don’t act like a rookie all the time, he playing like a vet, got his head on straight. I’ve been proud of him so far, for sure.”

When Anarumo was asked of Walley’s play, he had this to say: “He’s done a great job so far,” Lou Anarumo said. “Young guy, still learning, we had a very teachable moment this morning in front of the group. He is really taken to the position well. I think that he’s got a long way to go but the first mark of a corner is how you cover, and I don’t care if you have pads on or not, either you can or you can’t. He’s done a good job so far. He’s just gotta get the details of it, but we like the trajectory he’s on.”

Lastly, Shane Steichen would say this about Walley and his performance: “Walley’s been doing a hell of a job,” Steichen said. “That’s a good get by Chris in the draft. He’s making a lot of plays out there.”

Anarumo is looking for consistency more than anything

We know that Ward will be one of the starting outside cornerbacks and that Kenny Moore will mostly be in the nickel. But that second outside starting role opposite of Ward is up for grabs.

Presumably competing for that playing time will be Walley, Jaylon Jones, JuJu Brents, and potentially others. Given Anarumo’s scheme, the ability to operate in man coverage and versatility will be two key elements for the cornerbacks, but ultimately, consistency will determine who sees the most playing time.

“Just consistency of work, and that’s going to have to show throughout training camp, throughout the preseason games, to determine who’s going to get that job,” Anarumo said.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see multiple players seeing snaps at this position, with the matchups and in-game situations playing a factor in dictating what the week-to-week playing time looks like.

Difficult decisions coming down the road?

Between Ward, Walley, Jones, Moore, Brents, Corey Ballentine, and Samuel Womack, that’s seven cornerbacks. Now, perhaps in Anarumo’s defense, where there will be a greater reliance on defensive backs, the Colts go heavy and keep all seven. However, that then forces them to go light at a different position to make the roster math work out.

On the flip side, if the Colts keep just six cornerbacks, which is more standard, someone from this group is going to be left off. If it comes down to that, the two players I’m looking at right now are Ballentine and Womack.

Now, I know, the Colts just signed Ballentine, but oftentimes when teams are building out the back end of their depth charts, they prefer the younger, higher upside players, which in this case, is Womack, who is 25 while Ballentine is nearing his age-30 season.

Also of note,  if the Colts were to release Ballentine, the dead cap hit is only $482,500, per Over the Cap.

We are a ways off before these decisions have to be made, but it’s something to be mindful of.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts roster review: A closer look at the CBs after minicamp