INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have spent a little more than half a decade stockpiling offensive weapons in the first two days of the NFL draft.

Indianapolis got started by drafting wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and running back Jonathan Taylor in the second round in 2020, took a year off and started ticking off spots on an annual basis.

The Colts took deep threat Alec Pierce in the second in 2022, slot receiver Josh Downs in the 2023 third, Adonai Mitchell in the second in 2024 and finally landed the cherry on top by taking tight end Tyler Warren in the first round of April’s draft.

For most of those years, the team’s issues at quarterback masked the talent the Colts were building at the skill positions. Nearly every player had flashes of brilliance, but Indianapolis didn’t throw the ball consistently enough to let all of those weapons shine.

A matchup against the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year on Sunday showed exactly how good the Colts have become on the outside.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our room,” Pierce said. “We have a bunch of guys we believe can make plays for the team.”

Denver’s Pat Surtain II is the NFL’s best cornerback, becoming only the second defensive back in the past 14 years to win Defensive Player of the Year honors. Surtain allowed a paltry 5.3 yards per target and a 58.9 quarterback rating on throws against him in 2024; Tennessee rookie Cam Ward barely tested Surtain in the opener, throwing just two passes in Surtain’s direction.

Indianapolis did not shy away from Surtain at all.

Daniel Jones targeted Surtain nine times, completed seven and kept finding completions against a cornerback known for shutting receivers down entirely. Surtain was also flagged for a 23-yard pass interference while playing in a zone against Colts tight end Drew Ogletree.

“We know he’s a hell of a football player,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “When we get one-on-one matchups with him, we’ve got to win them. … I thought our guys stepped up to the challenge for sure.”

Pierce made the biggest play, beating Surtain off the line for a 7-yard completion on third-and-6 on the final Colts’ drive to get Indianapolis to the edge of field goal range.

“Just a one-on-one there, a little Mesh concept,” Pierce said. “Gave me a chance, good ball. I’d like to get out of that tackle, make some more yards, make it a little easier for the kicker.”

Beating a Surtain tackle isn’t easy. Denver’s superstar led the Broncos with 11 tackles on Sunday, and on the seven completions he allowed, Surtain gave up only 63 yards, in large part because he made the tackle right away.

But Pierce was being a little bit humble in describing the play. The speedy Colts receiver did run Surtain through traffic in the middle of the field; he also beat the cornerback badly off the line, stuttering so quickly that Surtain wasn’t able to get his hands on him.

Pierce also beat Surtain off the line for a 14-yard gain earlier in the game, establishing inside position for an in-breaking route immediately at the snap.

The team’s burner was far from the only Colt to beat Surtain. Mitchell beat him for eight yards on a comeback route, fighting back to the ball. Warren used his strength to pick up nine yards against Surtain on another route, getting his 256-pound frame into Surtain’s body and then breaking off for a catch.

Pittman, the oldest member of the crew and the most accomplished, beat Surtain three times for 28 yards, fighting through tight coverage with his trademark physicality.

The only receiver who didn’t win a clear matchup against Surtain was Downs, who led Indianapolis with six catches on Sunday.

“I think sometimes there’s a progression to your offense that (determines where the ball goes),” Denver head coach Sean Payton said after the game. “I think it’s hash-mark driven, play-call driven, and it was the read through the progression more than it was, you know, (testing Surtain II).”

The Colts did not seek out Surtain the same way the Broncos attacked veteran Colts cornerback Xavien Howard, but there are plenty of teams that shy away from Surtain, no matter where the quarterback’s pre-snap read tells him to go.

Indianapolis was comfortable targeting Surtain because of the talent of its pass catchers, a stable that took years of draft picks and development to build.

None have earned a Pro Bowl berth yet, and not every pick was successful — the Colts released 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods at the end of training camp, cutting ties with the oft-injured tight end — but Indianapolis has a group of diverse talents capable of handling just about anything the Colts coaching staff might need.

“You want that defense to really think, ‘We’ve got to cover every one of these guys,’ as they’re running their initial route,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “When the ball gets spread around like that, I think it makes them do that, which makes everybody more effective.”

And it’s easy to be effective when every guy is capable of winning a matchup against the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.