Indiana's Draft Streak Continues as Simon Stepaniak is Selected by The Green Bay Packers
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Simon Stepaniak extends IU’s NFL Draft streak Image: Amanda Pavelka
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Former Indiana Hoosier offensive lineman Simon Stepaniak was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. By being selected Stepaniak extended the Indiana Football program’s streak to seven-straight years with at least one player selected in the NFL Draft (2014-2020). Stepaniak fifth NFL draft pick from Indiana since Tom Allen took over as the head coach of the Hoosiers and the 171st Hoosier taken all-time in the NFL draft.
Stepaniak is the 10th Hoosiers in draft history to be picked by the Green Bay Packers and the first since the Packers took Jason Spriggs in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Stepaniak played in 41 games at guard, with 31 starts, during his Hoosier career. Her is coming off a season where he was named third-team All-Big Ten and was named an Indiana team captain. Stepaniak was the only Hoosier player to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine in 2020. Stepaniak suffered an ACL injury during preparations for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in December. The Hamilton, Ohio native put up 37 repetitions on the bench press at the combine.
According to NFL.com, Stepaniak received a grade of 5.84, which translates to being a backup or special teams player in the league. They also wrote this overview of him:
Burly and strong with the ability to play either guard position in a gap-scheme attack. He's productive on double teams and combo blocks. Stepaniak comes off the ball and into opponents with some pop when he's singled up and he's a nasty block finisher, but he may not have enough length for NFL-block sustain. His ability to recover in pass pro is limited by both his wide base and exaggerated slide steps out to the edge. Despite his bench-press strength, Stepaniak gives too much ground to power rushers who push him into the pocket. It's possible to correct some of his pass protection issues and his physicality in the run game helps his cause as a late-round guard with backup potential.