Simon
Stepaniak.
Simon
Stepaniak.
Indiana· 6'4"· 313 lb
"A powerful, finishing Iowa guard whose draft stock rested on a knee that never healed, making him a medical gamble the Packers accepted and could never cash in."Pre-draft read
Stepaniak was a right guard built on power, a fifth-year Indiana starter who lined up almost exclusively on the right side of the Hoosiers' spread offense. His defining trait was upper-body strength; once his hands landed inside the chest he could stall a defensive tackle's charge and steer him off the rush lane. He played with a wide base, stayed square in pass protection and finished blocks.
The secondary trait was toughness in the run game, where he was at his best on down blocks, double teams and short pulls rather than long reaches in space. His lateral range was only average, so quick three-techniques could beat him to the edge. What separated him was functional strength that showed on tape and was then confirmed at the Combine.
Gap and power running game that asks its guards to down block, double team and pull short rather than reach defenders in space.
Year 1: rehab year and inactive interior reserve. Ceiling: a starting right guard in a power-based offense.
An outside-zone line that asks its guards to reach three-techniques and climb to linebackers with speed on every snap.
The scheme fit was never tested because the knee never let him compete.
Simon Stepaniak | Michigan Preview 11/18/19
Stepaniak previewing Indiana's 2019 matchup with Michigan during his senior season.
Simon Stepaniak talks about being drafted by the Packers
Stepaniak on being drafted by Green Bay and his connection to the organization.
Simon Stepaniak Ross junior year film
High school film from Ross (Ohio) before he committed to Indiana.
Stepaniak projected as a Day 3 interior lineman with a starter's temperament: a strong, physical right guard who had anchored a pass-first offense and been voted a team captain. The profile was narrow but clear. He was a phone-booth player who wanted to win with his hands and his base, not a movement guard for a wide-zone system.
He started 31 of the 41 games he played at Indiana, all but one at right guard, and earned third-team All-Big Ten from the media as a senior. His position coach called the 2019 Purdue game perhaps his best of the year. Then, during practice for the Gator Bowl, he tore his ACL in December 2019, wiping out the bowl, an all-star game and any Combine workouts.
That injury decided his draft range. Unable to run, he trained for the one drill he could do and put up 37 bench reps in Indianapolis. Clubs had to price an early-January knee surgery against solid tape, and Green Bay took him at No. 209 as its third offensive lineman of the sixth round, a cheap bet that a healthy Stepaniak could become an interior backup.
- 01
Functional power
Once his hands landed inside he could stall a defensive tackle's charge and steer him off the rush lane with pure upper-body strength.
- 02
Experience at right guard
Started 31 of his 41 games at Indiana, all but one at right guard, giving scouts a large and consistent sample at a single spot.
- 03
Run-game finish
Played through the whistle on down blocks and double teams and looked to bury defenders rather than simply get in their way.
- 04
Leadership and makeup
Voted a team captain as a fifth-year senior and won Indiana's award for its outstanding lineman in 2019.
- 05
Confirmed strength
Put up 37 bench reps at the Combine while rehabbing a torn ACL, backing up the power that showed on his college tape.
- 01
Torn ACL before the draft
Tore his ACL in December 2019 bowl practice and needed surgery in early January, so teams drafted him with no timeline for football.
- 02
Limited lateral range
Only average foot speed meant quick three-techniques and twists could beat him to the edge before he reset.
- 03
Narrow scheme fit
His game suited gap and power concepts; he was not an obvious fit for an outside-zone line that asks guards to reach and climb.
- 04
Injury history
Missed six games as a sophomore in 2017 before the knee injury, which added to the medical questions around him.
— — — positional median (p50)
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- 37repp50
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Indiana | 12 |
| 2017 | Indiana | 6 |
| 2018 | Indiana | 12 |
| 2019 | Indiana | 11 |
| Career | — | 41 |
Redshirted in 2015. Games and starts by season from Indiana's official roster bio: 31 starts in 41 games, 30 at right guard and one at left guard. Missed six games in 2017 with an injury and the 2019 Gator Bowl after tearing his ACL in bowl practice. Offensive linemen carry no statistical line beyond games and starts.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Same-round Packers interior lineman who never carved out a regular-season role.
Day 3 Packers lineman who stayed healthy and developed into a multi-year starting guard.
Packers guard pick whose career stalled before he ever settled into a lineup.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Green Bay signed Stepaniak in June 2020 and he opened training camp on the active/non-football injury list, then moved to the reserve/non-football injury list for the start of the season. He was activated in December but never appeared on the active roster for a game, and the Packers placed him on injured reserve in January 2021 during their run to the NFC Championship Game. He reached the 2021 camp listed as the No. 2 left guard.
He took part in the first two practices of that camp, then told the team he was retiring, and Green Bay placed him on the reserve/retired list on July 31, 2021. He never played an NFL snap. The retrospective is less about misjudged talent than about timing: the knee injury arrived at the worst moment, and a sixth-round flier on a rehabbing guard carried exactly the risk the Packers accepted when they made the pick. As a pure evaluation of the player, the strength and toughness were real; the body simply never gave him the chance to prove them on Sundays.