Streak Continues: Indiana's Simon Stepaniak Drafted by Green Bay Packers

The Hoosiers had 11 players drafted in the last six years, and the streak continued when guard Simon Stepaniak was drafted by the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For six straight years, Indiana has had at least one player taken in the NFL Draft. Now it's seven, because the Green Bay Packers selected Indiana guard Simon Stepaniak on Saturday afternoon.

Stepaniak was the 30th pick in the sixth round, and the 209th pick overall. He was the player with the highest grade from NFL.com, but he was coming off an ACL injury, and that might have hurt him in the draft process. 

It was slow going for guards in this draft. None were taken in the first two rounds and only three were taken Friday night in the third round, Stepaniak was the 19th-ranked guard, but he was chosen 15th overall among the guards.

"I’ll be able to play any of the three interior spots," Stepaniak said during his conference call with the Wisconsin media. "I’m focused on just getting as good as I can and learning the new playbook and just giving everything I can for the guys on the team and doing my part helping the team out."

Stepaniak (6-foot-4, 313 pounds) is a physical powerhouse who made Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks” list. At the Scouting Combine, he showed that power by putting up 37 reps on the 225-pound bench press.

"Going into it, since I was only a couple weeks off of (knee) surgery, I wasn't sure where I was at, so I was really pleased with the number I got," he said during his conference call. That was the second-most reps at the Combine but he said he's done more.

Indiana has had 11 players drafted in the past six years, and that's meant a lot to Indiana coach Tom Allen. He talked earlier this week about how it would mean a lot to keep the streak going.

"That's definitely something that we're proud of, but that involves way more people than myself,'' Allen said earlier in the week. A lot of previous coaches and previous staffs had a lot to do with that, plus a lot of hard work by a lot of people going into that result.''

Indiana had to cancel its Pro Day because of COVID-19 and several Indiana seniors — like linebacker Raekwon Jones and wide receiver Nick Westbrook, among others — haven't been able to meet with teams in person.

"This year will definitely create some challenges. This year we have a lot of guys that that have made it, they've proven to people as they've been able to come to campus and worked with them, and do these extra workouts that it would help their stock go up,'' Allen said. "But those guys are just like everybody else in this country, caught in a tough situation that has definitely affected their future, and are going to just have to display tremendous grit, perseverance and passion toward their long-term goals.

"I have full confidence that we have guys in this class that are going to get opportunities to go play in the NFL whenever they get drafted or taken as a free agent. As I told them, you just need one team to believe in you, one team to give you a chance. And when they do, you show you belong. I feel confident we'll have some guys that'll have that opportunity.''

Green Bay took three offensive linemen in the sixth round, Besides Stepaniak, the Packers also took Michigan guard Jon Runyan and Oregon center Jake Hanson. 

Stepaniak is confident he will be healthy enough to compete during training camp.

"My knee's progressing phenomenally. It's going really well. The timeline is to be ready for camp. It's healing great," he said.

Indiana draft picks since 2014

Here are the Indiana players who have been drafted in the past seven years:

• 2020: Simon Stepaniak, guard, to the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round
• 2019: Wes Martin, guard, to the Washington Redskins in the fourth round
• 2018: Ian Thomas, tight end, to the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round
• 2018: Chris Covington, linebacker, to the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round
• 2017: Dan Feeney, guard, to the Los Angeles Chargers in the third round
• 2016: Jason Spriggs, tackle, to the Green Bay Packers in the second round
• 2016: Jordan Howard, running back, to the Chicago Bears in the fifth round
• 2016: Nate Sudfeld, quarterback, to the Washington Redskins in the sixth round
• 2015: Tevin Coleman, running back, to the Atlanta Falcons in the third round
• 2014: Cody Latimer, wide receiver, to the Denver Broncos in the second round
• 2014: Ted Bolser, tight end, to the Washington Redskins in the seventh round

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• COMBINE BREAKDOWN: Simon Stepaniak impressed NFL executives with his bench press. It was all he could do after ACL injury, CLICK HERE