In a somewhat surprising move the Lions draft Nick Fairley with the 13th overall pick. I actually didn’t even have Fairley on my draft board because I had major questions about his character. I don’t get to meet the players and interview people close to them, so my character evaluations are limited. As far as pure talent goes, Fairley is a top five player, and I am assuming the Lions were ok with his character.
Fairley is a physical beast when he wants to be and paired with Suh, Corey Williams and Sammie Lee Hill the Lions have a lot of talent and potential at defensive tackle. Fairley is a penetrator like Suh and will give the Lions a lot of options in their rotation.
As far as value goes, it’s a split decision. Value for the talent level, but not positional value for the Lions as they were already stacked at the position.