NFL Draft 2011: Could Cincinnati Bengals Consider Drafting Nick Fairley?

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Nick Fairley Could be Another Auburn Player on Bengals' Radar

The Cincinnati Bengals may not need to draft a defensive lineman early on, but given how deep the draft is on them, they'll at least take a look and see if there are any worth selecting.

One of the possibilities that the Bengals are considering with the fourth pick in the draft was someone who was a consensus top pick before slipping out of the top five in recent mock drafts, Nick Fairley, who had a great year anchoring a championship Auburn defense.

According to Bengals.com, Marvin Lewis discussed Fairley and seemed to hold him in high regard, saying of him:

"He's got a very good personality in watching him interact with teammates at Auburn. I don't see some of the characteristics that some people are comparing him to. Exceptional quickness. That's one of his big assets."

If there's one thing that we know the Bengals are looking at when it comes to defensive linemen, it's their quickness, and if Lewis likes what Fairley has in that regard, then there's no question he's at least on the board as an option.

Does this mean that the Bengals will take Fairley over Cam Newton or A.J. Green? Certainly not, and there is almost no chance that both Green and Newton are off the board in the top three. They may like Fairley, but it's not a likely outcome of the draft.

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