Height: 6-4
Weight: 291
40: 4.84
Year: 4Jr
Nick Fairley
School: Auburn
Position: DT
Bio: Junior college transfer who broke into the starting lineup in 2010 and produced a monster season. Awarded all-Conference and All-American honors. Named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and totaled 60/24/11. Started two games as a sophomore in 2009, posting 28/3.5/1.5.
Positive: Game-impacting defensive lineman whose star is on the rise. Displays great movement skills and an explosive burst to the action. Quickly changes direction and effectively makes plays down the line or chases the action in backside pursuit. Plays with good pad level, fires off the snap with a great first step, and shoots through the gaps up the field. Fast off the edge, effective in pursuit, and makes plays in every direction. Constantly doubled by the opposition yet remains a game changer.
Negative: Must improve his overall strength. Marginal hand use and displays limited moves getting off blocks. Lacks pure power and can be controlled by single blocker. Mostly a first move lineman that must beat opponents off the snap. Not known as a hard worker in practice.
Analysis: Fairley comes off a career year in which he started the season hot and never let up through Auburn's national title game. He possesses the skills and athleticism to be used as a defensive tackle or two-gap end and has an enormous amount of upside. Fairley will be very productive at the next level if he improves the details of his game and works hard on and off the field.
Updated 2/20
| Rank | Rnd | Name | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st | Andrew Luck Stanford | QB |
| 2 | 1st | Matt Kalil USC | T |
| 3 | 1st | Trent Richardson Alabama | RB |
| 4 | 1st | Robert Griffin III Baylor | QB |
| 5 | 1st | Quinton Coples North Carolina | DE |
| 6 | 1st | Justin Blackmon Oklahoma State | WR |
| 7 | 1st | Morris Claiborne LSU | CB |
| 8 | 1st | Riley Reiff Iowa | T |
| 9 | 1st | Kendall Wright Baylor | WR |
| 10 | 1st | Melvin Ingram South Carolina | DE |
| 11 | 1st | David DeCastro Stanford | G |
| 12 | 1st | Michael Brockers LSU | DT |
| 13 | 1st | Dre Kirkpatrick Alabama | CB |
| 14 | 1st | Fletcher Cox Mississippi State | DT |
| 15 | 1st | Courtney Upshaw Alabama | OLB |
| 16 | 1st | Michael Floyd Notre Dame | WR |
| 17 | 1st | Mike Adams Ohio State | T |
| 18 | 1st | Zach Brown North Carolina | OLB |
| 19 | 1st | Jonathan Martin Stanford | T |
| 20 | 1st | Nick Perry USC | OLB |
| 21 | 1st | Devon Still Penn State | DT |
| 22 | 1st | Luke Kuechly Boston College | ILB |
| 23 | 1-2 | Peter Konz Wisconsin | C |
| 24 | 1st | Don'ta Hightower Alabama | ILB |
| 25 | 1st | Mark Barron Alabama | S |
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