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Beane mining for talent at Senior Bowl

NFL hopefuls can take big step forward in draft process with a successful showing during Senior Bowl week.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It seems like there's never a quiet time for NFL executives. Even the week before the Pro Bowl, which this year is a week before the Super Bowl, is a busy one. NFL executives have converged on Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl. It's a showcase for some of the top college football talent in the country. 

Quarterback Jalen Hurts is trying to prove himself as a legitimate NFL prospect after leading two elite college programs. The Oklahoma and one-time Alabama star is auditioning for scouts, executives and coaches at the Senior Bowl all week.

It's a trip back to Crimson Tide country as the game is played in Mobile. He led both programs into the College Football Playoff and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in his one season with Lincoln Riley's Sooners. Hurts says his biggest selling point is simple: he wins.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane is at the Senior Bowl along with many other NFL executives. Two positions the Bills are most likely looking for help at are wide receiver and edge rusher. 

“You can never have enough pass rushers,” Beane said.  “We’ll compare [draftees] to the guys we have. How quick? How smart is he? What’s his skill set? At the end of the day, there’s guys in this draft that I’m already aware of that can come right in and play for us now. Those guys usually go pretty quick, though. So I don’t know how long they’ll last in the draft versus free agency. It’s a premium position.”

The Senior Bowl is part of the audition process for young players hoping to get drafted into the NFL later this year. Last year, the game produced 93 of the 254 picks in the draft, including 40 of the 102 players taken in Rounds 1 through 3.

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