NFL Draft Preview 2024: Top Prospects & Giants Star Wants Out
Veezstream’s NFL newsletter has released a comprehensive preview of the upcoming draft, highlighting the depth of its proprietary scouting database, “The Beast,” which profiles 2,700 prospects across the league.
While The Beast offers an “Explore all 99 quarterbacks” filter, veteran analyst Dane Brugger reminds readers that the record for quarterbacks selected in a single draft is 25, set in the 17‑round format of 1976, far fewer than the 257 total picks scheduled for this year’s draft.
The platform’s breadth is evident in its exhaustive scouting reports, ranging from elite prospects to long‑shot candidates, allowing fans and teams to explore archetypes such as “Of Course This Guy Will Be an NFL Star.”
One example is Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, whose family pedigree includes a father who played seven seasons as an NFL running back and an uncle who was a two‑time Pro Bowler, positioning Downs as the No. 5 overall prospect in The Beast and the highest‑ranking safety drafted in the past five years.
In contrast, the newsletter also profiles former long‑shots like edge rusher Akheem Mesidor, the fifth‑highest‑graded pass‑rusher in the database, whose unconventional path includes a master’s degree from Miami and a diagnosis of narcolepsy during his youth.
Mesidor’s background features a single‑parent household with eight children, multiple high‑school transfers, and a six‑season collegiate career, culminating in a first‑ or second‑round grade despite being 25 years old, the oldest among most draft‑eligible players.
Another intriguing prospect is Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson, a 5‑foot‑9, 164‑pound athlete who posted a 4.26‑second 40‑yard dash at the combine, earning him a third‑round grade and expectations of an earlier selection.
Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor represents the massive lineman archetype, standing 6‑foot‑7 and weighing 352 pounds, while also achieving academic honors as a 2025 first‑team Academic All‑American and graduating near the top of his class.
Proctor’s early grade from Dane Brugger reflects his physical upside, yet scouting notes highlight concerns about his hand usage, timing, and leverage, underscoring the uncertainty that still surrounds his on‑field performance.
The Beast’s interactive version is available for free within Veezstream’s app, and subscribers can download a full PDF for deeper analysis, ensuring that fans can continue to track these prospects as the draft approaches.
Beyond the draft preview, the newsletter covers a developing trade saga involving New York Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who formally requested a trade earlier this week and subsequently missed the team’s offseason workouts.
Lawrence, a first‑round pick in 2019, has been described by new Giants head coach John Harbaugh as a “cornerstone football player,” reflecting his importance to the franchise’s defensive identity.
Since entering the league, Lawrence has become the Giants’ most productive home‑grown talent, distinguishing himself as the only Giants draftee to earn multiple Pro Bowl selections.
His statistical contributions include leading the team in games played, defensive snaps, sacks, pressures, and tackles for loss, as well as topping Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value metric for the Giants.
Lawrence’s current contract is a four‑year, $90 million deal signed in 2023, which contains no guaranteed money remaining, positioning him among the highest‑paid interior linemen with an average per‑year (APY) rank of 12th.
Despite his recent production decline—recording only half a sack, 31 tackles, and eight quarterback hits in 2025, all career lows—Lawrence played through a lingering elbow injury and faced double‑team pressure at the second‑highest rate in the league, according to NextGen Stats.
| Stat | 2025 Total | Career High |
|---|---|---|
| Sacks | 0.5 | 3.0 |
| Tackles | 31 | 58 |
| QB Hits | 8 | 22 |
Lawrence’s demand centers on a raise and guaranteed money, prompting Giants management to weigh the cost of retaining a premier run defender against the thin interior line depth that currently hampers the defense, which allowed the most yards per carry in 2025.
Analyst Dan Duggan questions whether Lawrence’s 2025 performance signals a genuine decline for the 28‑year‑old or merely an outlier in an otherwise elite career, a determination that will heavily influence the Giants’ roster strategy.
The timing of Lawrence’s request—following a wave of high‑profile free‑agent contracts—suggests he may be willing to stay in New York if his financial expectations are met, according to Duggan’s reporting.
In parallel, the newsletter offers a deep dive into Jon Gruden’s second stint with the Las Vegas Raiders, chronicling a period marked by questionable personnel moves and a series of setbacks that earned the era the moniker “Gruden’s Raiders: We Got Nobody Left.”
Gruden’s return in 2018 came after a $100 million, ten‑year contract, yet he was dismissed after just four seasons, during which he traded away marquee talent such as Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, depleting the roster’s core.
Despite acquiring a bounty of draft capital—including four top‑40 picks in 2019 and two first‑round selections in 2020—the Raiders retained only running back Josh Jacobs from that influx, who later departed following a one‑year extension.
The Gruden era also featured the ill‑fated acquisition of wide receiver Antonio Brown, secured via a three‑year, $50 million contract with $30 million guaranteed, a deal that Gruden praised as the most hardworking player he had ever seen in practice.
Brown’s tenure quickly unraveled, compounding the franchise’s turmoil and reinforcing the narrative of mismanagement that defined Gruner’s second term.
Further analysis from colleague Zak Keefer expands on these events, providing additional context and detail in the full story available through Veezstream’s platform.
Additional newsletter highlights include a receiver ranking methodology devised by film analyst Ted Nguyen, who separates receivers by positional type rather than grouping them together, offering a nuanced view of talent across the league.
The Baltimore Ravens, under new head coach Jesse Minter, are cited as an example of a team embracing fresh energy, with wide receiver Zay Flowers commenting on the excitement surrounding the organization’s reset.
Off‑field developments feature the NFL’s ongoing labor dispute with the referees’ union, which could lead to the deployment of replacement officials—primarily sourced from the NCAA—starting as early as June 1.
San Francisco’s 49ers are also discussed, with analyst Vic Tafur arguing that the franchise’s traditional draft focus on defensive linemen and receivers may need to evolve this year to address roster imbalances.
Among the most‑clicked stories this week is Bruce Feldman’s profile of the draft’s most explosive prospect, a player who, despite never having played a live snap of football, has generated significant buzz.
