Packers Select Third Consecutive Lineman, Indiana’s Simon Stepaniak
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With the second of back-to-back picks in the sixth round, the Green Bay Packers selected Indiana guard Simon Stepaniak.
In fact, all three of Green Bay’s sixth-round picks were used on the offensive line, with this pick following Michigan’s Jon Runyan earlier in the round and Oregon’s Jake Hanson with the previous selection.
Of Stepaniak’s 31 career starts, 30 came at right guard. As a senior team captain, he started 10 games at right guard and one at left guard to earn a third-team nod on the all-Big Ten team. Pro Football Focus charged him with just one sack as a senior.
"I’ll be able to play any of the three interior spots," he said during his conference call. "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 (6-4, 313) 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.
He did not go through the rest of the athletic testing due to the knee.
"My knee's progressing phenomenally. It's going really well. The timeline is to be ready for camp. It's healing great," he said.
With the Hoosiers, Stepaniak bided his time and learned from former standouts Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney.
The first two years I was here, it was pretty much learning the ways of college football. I was playing behind Dan Feeney and watching how he attacked the day every day,” he told the Greensburg Daily News. “This year I know what I want to do and what I want us to do as a team. This summer I just tried to attack the weights every day, and I feel like I’m ready to go.”
Green Bay is scheduled to pick twice in the seventh round, at No. 236 and No. 242.
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