In a majority of pre-draft predictions, Marcell Dareus is slotted to go ahead of Nick Fairley, who earlier in the year was being considered as a possible number one overall selection. Some of the predictions of Fairley going number one were even after all of the offseason events in preparation for these guys to enter the NFL. But somewhere along the way, the pendulum swung in favor of Dareus.
I still believe that there is a possibility that the Broncos could favor Fairley over Dareus even though Dareus is the more versatile of the two. Nick Fairley does one thing but he does it extremely well. I believe that he is about as good as Gerald McCoy of last year's draft, or maybe even better. The bottom line is that that there is no Ndamukong Suh in this draft but Fairley and Dareus are undoubtedly the top two defensive linemen in the draft this year; speaking from an interior stand primarily.
The 49ers will probably not be looking at either as their primary targets even though they both will probably be on the board. I'd say that if I had to guess at what was going on behind closed doors, I would guess that Patrick Peterson and Blaine Gabbert are slotted number one and number two on their big board.
It will be very interesting to see where Fairley will go and who he will go to. After the jump, we'll take a deeper look at his highlights, stats, and summary.
This video here is a bit different than others I have posted. It's a combination of his performance coupled with an interview. Most people saw Fairley in the National Championship and what he is capable of. For those who have not yet, there is a little taste of what he brings to the table here in this video feed. Fairley has the ability to disrupt an entire offensive game plan at any time in a game. He is going to have a lot of NFL offensive coordinator's staying up late at night once he hits the ranks of the NFL.
Here are his career stats while at Auburn:
Stats Overview
Tackles
Misc
Interceptions
YEAR
TOT
SOLO
AST
SACK
STF
STFY
FF
BK
INT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PD
2009
28
14
14
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
2010
56
32
24
12
0
0
0
0
1
-1
-1.0
0
0
0
2010 Regular Season Game Log
Tackles
Misc
Interceptions
DATE
OPP
RESULT
TOT
SOLO
AST
SACK
STF
STFY
FF
BK
INT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PD
9/4
Arkansas State
W 52-26
4
1
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
9/9
@Mississippi State
W 17-14
5
3
2
2
0
0
0
0
1
-1
-1.0
0
0
0
9/18
Clemson
W 27-24
7
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
9/25
South Carolina
W 35-27
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
10/2
Louisiana-Monroe
W 52-3
4
3
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
10/9
@Kentucky
W 37-34
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
10/16
Arkansas
W 65-43
8
5
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
10/23
LSU
W 24-17
6
4
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
10/30
@Mississippi
W 51-31
4
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
11/6
Chattanooga
W 62-24
Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats.
11/13
Georgia
W 49-31
4
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
11/26
@Alabama
W 28-27
4
3
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
12/4
@South Carolina
W 56-17
4
1
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
2010 Postseason Game Log
Tackles
Misc
Interceptions
BOWL
OPP
RESULT
TOT
SOLO
AST
SACK
STF
STFY
FF
BK
INT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PD
TOSTITOS BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
@Oregon
W 22-19
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
Summary: Fairley finished the season with 12 sacks and 56 tackles. He seemed to have find his game this year. Whoever drafts him is going to wind up with a guy that is about to hit his peak. Players peak at different times throughout their careers but those who do so early typically wind up being special. I think that Fairley will be an instant threat and force.
PREDICTION: 1st Round.