NFL Draft 2011 Grades: Analysts In Love With Lions' Pick Of Nick Fairley

The vast majority of Detroit Lions fans like the pick of Nick Fairley. There are some fans that aren't on board with the selection, but 81 percent of those who voted in Pride of Detroit's poll responded yes to the question of whether or not they like the pick.

It seems national, non-Detroit people like the pick even more than Lions fans do. You have already seen the reaction from around the league in an earlier post, but what are the experts saying? In short: they are saying a lot of positive things.

In SB Nation's 2011 NFL Draft grades for the first round, the Lions were given an A for picking Fairley. The reasoning for the A grade is that the Lions are "not filling holes, they're drafting football players." I love that line, as it's a perfect description for Martin Mayhew's approach to the draft, and that approach last night got Detroit one of only two A grades that SB Nation handed out (the Saints received the other A).

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco likes the Fairley pick so much that he gave the Lions an A+. He called the pick a "steal" and said that Fairley was actually the top player on his board. Prisco went on to wish good luck to teams that have to go up against a D-line that includes Ndamukong Suh and Fairley, as they will need it.

For more coverage of the 2011 NFL Draft (i.e. NFL mock drafts, draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL Draft schedule, etc.), check out Mocking The Draft, SB Nation's NFL Draft hub, SB Nation Detroit's NFL Draft StoryStream and Pride Of Detroit's 2011 NFL Draft archive.