Does Cordy Glenn Have Inside Track At Bills' Left Tackle Job?

When the Buffalo Bills selected cornerback Stephon Gilmore with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, one of the players that GM Buddy Nix and company passed on - but considered with that pick - was offensive tackle Cordy Glenn. As you're all aware by now, Glenn was the player that the Bills ultimately chose in the second round.

Two months after the fact, Glenn is emerging as the clear front-runner for the Bills' starting left tackle job.

WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia reports that with Erik Pears sitting out of June practices - and with Glenn's purported chief competitor for the left tackle job, Chris Hairston, filling in for Pears at right tackle - Glenn has been getting the lion's share of not only first-team reps at mini-camp, but also the majority of the second-team reps. Hairston's reps, meanwhile, have come predominantly on the right side throughout the spring.

Pears, who is recovering from off-season hernia surgery, is expected to be healthy by training camp, at which point he'll be re-installed as the first-team right tackle. That could free Hairston up to move back over to left tackle to compete with Glenn, but at this point in the off-season, Glenn has such a clear advantage in terms of left-side reps with the ones and twos that it's impossible not to call the rookie from Georgia the front-runner to start.

For now, it appears very safe to pencil Glenn in as the starting left tackle, Pears as the starting right tackle, and Hairston as the swing tackle reserve for the start of training camp. That doesn't mean that the race for the starting job is over, by any means, but it's looking like Glenn will have the first crack at locking down the starting job permanently.