With the Ninth Pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Mock Draft, the Dallas Cowboys Select...

With the ninth pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Community Mock Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...

Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn

This selection and write-up was made by Granville74:

I contemplated a quarterback or running back here but if the likelihood of Fairley being on the board drops to Dallas, there is no way Jerry Jones would pass on him.

The Cowboys had a total of 39 sacks last year with 16 of them coming from DeMarcus Ware.  They simply need to get after the quarterback more.  Their Defensive Line accounted for a total of 8 of the remaining sacks for the team.  Fairley had 12 sacks and 59 tackles in a very strong SEC conference.  Igor Olshansky was a huge bust in Dallas and a quicker and stronger player like Fairley could easily step in and replace him or Stephen Bowen.  Fairley was a DT at Auburn but can easily transition to an End in a 3-4 scheme in Dallas which is the defense Ryan loves to run.

Fairley couldn't fall any further, as some pundits believe he could still be taken No. 1 overall by the Panthers. I think it would be a mistake if Dallas tried to go for a quarterback or running back; Tony Romo is fine for their team, and they already took a non-bust back in the first round a couple of years ago in Felix Jones. Fairley could end up not only being considered a "steal" at No. 9 overall, but he can help improve Dallas' defensive woes last season that led to them giving up 27.3 points per game, good for second-to-last in the NFL.

The Washington Redskins are on the clock next (email has been sent to Rounds94).