Nick Fairley can take solace in the fact that he isn’t the only defensive line prospect whose stock appears to be falling the closer we get to the draft.

Clark Judge of CBS Sports is reporting that Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers was “flagged” by physicians on his medical examination at the scouting combine two weeks ago due to a knee injury. Bowers only participated in the bench press at the combine and has postponed his Pro Day from March 10 until April 1 as he continues to recover from what was thought to be a minor knee scope.

Since the end of the college football season, Bowers has been viewed as potential top-5 pick. But players with medical concerns fall all the time in the draft. Texas’ linebacker Sergio Kindle was viewed as a top-15 pick last year before concerns about his medical history caused him to drop all the way to No. 43 (Ravens) in the second round. After having surgery to repair a sports hernia in 2008, Maryland Clemson defensive lineman Phillip Merling (also considered a first round pick) fell to the Dolphins at No. 32 at the top of the second round.

Of course, just because Kindle and Merling fell doesn’t mean that Bowers will, too. Kindle and Merling were considered first round picks by many draft pundits, but neither of them was viewed as a top-5 prospects like Bowers is. Still, Bowers’ knee injury is a major concern and there’s a possibility that he could fall out of the top 10 if enough teams are scared off by this latest information. (Or if he doesn’t perform well at his Pro Day in April.)

This is considered a very deep draft for defensive linemen, so who knows how far Bowers will fall if he gets out of the top-10 picks. That said, assuming he fully recovers from the knee surgery at some point this offseason, he could wind up being the steal of the first round depending on how far he drops.

In my latest mock, I have the Bills selecting Bowers at No. 3 (although this latest information may have considerably changed things).