Cordy Glenn at 10?

My opinion on the whole Cordy Glenn at 10 idea is that he is not the pick. I have a few reasons for this and I would like to share them with you all and see what you think. I will give you my reasoning and then give you a more in depth opinion of each as you read through this. The obvious reason is that he will not be the best player available at 10. Another good reason is that we have a high tempo offense, and not because our offensive line is weak but because it is the best way to use Fitz’s best attribute… His brain! Also I will touch on Buddy Nix track record at drafting tackles or offensive linemen in general in the first round. Lets get into this. I havn’t even mentioned yet that the Bills are extremely happy with there guard situation and that is where Cordy would end up if he didn’t pan out. Cordy has only been at the left tackle position for one season of his college career.

First and foremost when the Buffalo Bills are on the clock with the 10th pick in the NFL draft there will be MUCH better talents than Cordy Glenn. It’s very possible one of Michael Floyd, Justin Blackmon, Luke Kuechly, Ryan Tannehill could be there to name a few. Of course one of a few of you fan’s favorites the Iowa Tackle could be there as well but just mentioning his name gives me the shakes so I won’t type it as he is in my opinion not even on the radar. If one of the two Receivers are available at 10 the Bills will take one in my opinion. I am pretty confident in this. Before the Michael Floyd hype began I was one of the people who put out there that I saw him as the pick. I wrote an article about it and if available I stand by that.

Second and probably the most interesting reason why I do not think Glenn is the pick or any other Left Tackle prospect is because of the Bills offense. The Bills offense is designed to be a quick strike passing attack mostly out of the shotgun. Quick slants, 10 yard out patterns and screens make up the majority of Buffalo’s offense. They put 4 receivers or 3 with a tight end and force a defense to spread out so Fitz can pick his quick strike in one on one situations. You do not need Anthony Munoz to be your left tackle to get by in this offense. As proven last year by Fitz being the one of the LEAST sacked quarterbacks in the league you just need a guy that is athletic enough to not let defensive ends blow by them. Chris Hairston is exactly that. Hairston is a guy that will hold up in pass protection when a quarterback hardly ever goes beyond a 3 step drop. I believe the front office at One Bills Drive feels the same way but you can’t blame them for not tipping there hand and showing their cards.

Buddy Nix is not a fan of drafting offensive linemen high in the draft. The highest drafted tackle that Buddy Nix influenced would have been Marcus McNeill (who very well could get a look from Buffalo). McNeill was drafted with the 50th pick in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft. Buddy Nix believes that playmakers and impact players (pass rushers, shut down corners, ect.) are drafted high in the first round. He has stated this many times. He is a guy that believes in acquiring talent through the draft and then keeping your own talent after they produce. He has even said that if you draft tackles you can always move them to guard. That doesn’t sound to me like a guy that places a high priority on left tackle folks. That sounds like a guy that knows that the offensive line is a grouping of positions that are predominantly deep throughout the draft and through undrafted free agency. Just like he found Kris Dielman who went undrafted, or Nick Hardwick who was not drafted till the 66th pick in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft. Both by the way have had pretty nice careers. Nix is the type of guy that knows that the elite talents are the guys that are extremely expensive and hard to get in free agency. He knows the way to get those type of guys is by drafting them and getting them on rookie contracts. You know, kind of like he did with Drew Brees, LT, Shawne Merriman, Antoine Cason, and Quinten Jammer to name a few. This is how you build a winning football team. By allowing your team to continue to stock pile talent without giving 100 million contracts out every off season.

Now the last point I stated, and I could have kept going but for the sake of your eyes I will stop at 4. Cordy Glenn has less time at left tackle than Chris Hairston and less time at the tackle position all together than Hairston as well. If the Bills draft Glenn at 10 and pass up a superior talent in say Floyd or Kuechly and Glenn ends up at guard that is not a little failure. That is a monumental failure. Especially considering anyone with a lick of football sense on Buffalo Bills topics knows that Andy Levitre is probably going to get a nice extension eventually and the team can’t get enough Urbik and Rhino. Also an extension for Urbik or Rhino would be a heck of a lot cheaper than the contract of a top 10 draft pick semi-bust. If my opinion came true and Glenn was forced inside if he didn’t pan out at left tackle.

Do I think Glenn could be a viable option in the second round? Yes. Do I think they really like the kid and possibly prefer him to the options they are preparing themselves to be available with the 10th or say 41st pick? Yes. Now, do I think that the Bills would like to draft a offensive weapon to help there two biggest offensive investments in team history as well as make there already above average running game better? Yes. If you look at the 3 questions I asked myself (sometimes it feels weird doing that). You will see that I have a feeling if one of the two receivers are available that is the pick. If not ole’ Kirk Morrison may not be stated to start after all because of a top 10 Boston College prospect.  Then I could most definitely see the Bills, especially with an extra 4th and 5th rounder possibly even trading up in the second round to get a Cordy Glenn or another tackle prospect of their choosing.

For you Draft obsessed fans out their I would like you to get a piece of paper out and right down a list of REALISTIC prospects that could be available at 10. After you make this list narrow it to 3. I am willing to bet if you do this with your own football knowledge and not by just what you see on TV that you will then notice that its pretty obvious to see the chances of Nix taking that big of a reach at 10 (and it will be fun for you to do). Of course every team has different players graded differently but given Nix track record I do not see him making that reach. He plays it way to safe. Like taking a running back at 10 when you have two above average ones on your roster already because that running back (CJ Spiller) is the best player available. Left tackle is a very important position and I do think the Bills will draft one. I just don’t see them taking one at 10. Crazier things have happened. Just ask JP Losman when his name was called in the 1st round to Buffalo a few years ago!