Holding the ninth pick in the second round there were no guarantees that the Bills would be able to land the offensive tackle they wanted all along despite the fact that only two tackles came off the board in round one. Luck was on Buffalo's side however, as just one more offensive tackle was selected prior to the Bills pick at 41 enabling them to take Georgia OT Cordy Glenn.
"One, I am happy I get to play left tackle, two Buffalo is one of my favorite teams," said Glenn. "I am just happy that I get to play football and I know where I am playing it now it is just a big relief."
When asked if they were pleased to land him nine picks into round two, Bills National Scout Darrell Moody quipped.
"What do you think? We're excited to have him."
Glenn is a massive offensive lineman at nearly 6'6" and 345 pounds, but he showed good athleticism at the NFL Combine as well as on game tape. He ran a 5.15 40-time and with nearly 36-inch arms had 31 reps on the bench press.
He has only 18 starts at left tackle after taking over at that position full time this past season. He struggled early, but got better with each passing week.
"I think I got better as the season gone on and I got more confidence and comfortable out there," Glenn said. "I still don't think I have played my best game yet though."
"You could see a tremendous amount of improvement every week," said Moody. "He's got tremendous size, he's got length and he's got good foot quickness."
Obviously, the Bills believe the upside on Glenn is almost as big as he is as Moody likened him to another former second-round offensive tackle that he and GM Buddy Nix had a hand in selecting for San Diego in the 2006 draft.
"He's very similar to what Marcus McNeill was when we took him in San Diego," said Moody. "Our coaches there were able to get that tendency to waist bend out of (McNeill). We're a firm believer we can get (Glenn) out of that habit."
McNeill turned into a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle for the Chargers after they made him the 50th pick six years ago.
Some other NFL clubs projected Glenn as a right tackle or even a guard where he made 28 starts in college. But the Bills believe his long arms (35 3/4") and massive frame will make him a successful left tackle at the pro level.
"I think he's got good feet," said Moody. "I don't know that he's got great feet. I think he's got good feet and you don't have to have great feet if you've got great length and great size. It's hard to get around big people."
"The Senior Bowl really capped it off for us," said Nix. "They played him everywhere down there. That's where people saw him at guard because he hadn't played there since 2010. But he was able to hold his own against the best at the Senior Bowl at left tackle. It convinced us."
Glenn made a pre-draft visit to Orchard Park in late March and enjoyed his time with Bills offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris.
"Just visiting I liked the coaching staff," said Glenn. "I like the offensive line coach. I like the way he coaches so the Bills were definitely a favorite of mine."
Moody said Glenn is very coachable and had hard coaching in college and responded well. There is a good deal of upside in Glenn, especially with his pass protection skills developing quickly.
"I think he's a good athlete, a tough kid," said Moody. "I think at this time when you evaluate film, which is unusual with college players, I think he's a better pass blocker than he is a run blocker right now, but I think that will come."
"I think he's just tapped the potential at left tackle," said head coach Chan Gailey. "I think that's why people maybe thought guard because they weren't sure of where he could go. In our evaluation, we think he can go a long way at left tackle."
