Daniel Jeremiah speaks during Daniel Jeremiah's Mock Draft at the NFLN set at the NFL Draft on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Kansas City, MO. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Hundreds of thousands of NFL fans are about to flock Titletown for the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

The stage is set. The lights will shine bright. The aroma of new opportunities and, most likely, cheese will resonate through the air surrounding Lambeau Field.

But who will your favorite team select on Thursday night? Well, that remains to be a mystery. But one man has a fairly tight grip on the pulse of everything leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft.

That man is none other than Daniel Jeremiah.

He spent nearly a decade as a scout for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. Today, he serves as an analyst and writer for NFL Network and NFL.com as well as serving as color commentator for the Los Angeles Chargers.

On Wednesday he was available at Lambeau Field to talk with fellow media members. Fortunately, Daily Press sports editor “The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg secured a 1-on-1 chat with Jeremiah discussing how he evaluates players, what chaos may ensue and, of course, what he thinks the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions might due on Thursday.

Big Dog: OK so I have to ask — I see analysts like you say this player has a first-round grade or a second-round grade. How do you determine that exactly?

Daniel Jeremiah: Yeah, the teams I was with we really didn’t do that as much,because we talked more in the world of like “is he a starter? Is he a Pro Bowl player? Is he a role player?” Things like that. Because every year, the draft is different in terms of talent, but there is a traditional sense of this guy is a traditional second round pick, (a traditional) first round pick. But you got to have some elite traits to be viewed as one of those blue players. We use colors, and that kind of puts them up in that top tier. Last year I had 17 players that had that kind of designation. This year there’s six. So that’s going to always fluctuate from year to year. So I’m always a little bit leery when, you know, everybody’s like “Oh, he’s a first round talent.” A lot of times I go, “you’ve told me there’s 65 first round players. They can’t all be first round players. There’s 32 picks (in the first round).”

BD: One of the most intriguing players in this class is Travis Hunter. Maybe it’s just me, but I see a lot of Charles Woodson in him based on athletic ability. How would you describe Travis Hunter to someone who’s never watched him play?

DJ: Silky smooth. He’s got unbelievable ball skills, like incredible ball skills. He’s like flowing water. Everything he does is just so smooth and flowy and silky. He’s just a natural athlete more than anything else.

BD: I asked Joel Klatt this question, and I’ll ask you too — is this the deepest running back class you’ve seen so far?

DJ: It’s really deep. I have to go back over the years, we’ve had some other good ones, but there’s a lot of depth. There’s going to be some starting running backs emerging out of day three. It’s really good.

BD: The top four quarterbacks appear to be Cam Ward, Sheduer Sanders, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe. Who do you feel could be that fifth guy that surprises people?

DJ: Well you got (Louisville’s Tyler) Shough in there. To me, the surprising one, I’m curious to see how high Dylan Gabriel is going to go. He’s a good player, he’s just little. So how high does he end up going? It wouldn’t shock me if he somehow went in the third round. He is a good player.

BD: I was ready to ask about Gabriel. Maybe it’s because he’s small and left handed, but I got Doug Flutie vibes off of him.

DJ: Yeah, that’s a good call.

BD: What do you see with Dillon Gabriel?

DJ: He’s kind of like (Miami Dolphins quarterback) Tue (Tagovailoa). He’s got a lot of the same traits that Tua has, just a little bit smaller, and there’s the left handed aspect of that as well. Everything he does is real quick. Quick release. Quick guys (around him). He sees things really, really well. He’s played a lot of football.

BD: Obviously we’re here in Green Bay. The Packers haven’t taken a receiver in the first round since 2002. Do you feel this could be the year it happens, or are Packer fans going to get upset again?

DJ: …I don’t think they do it. I mean, it would be hilarious if, after all these years, they waited till the draft came to Green Bay to take one. But I think they look on the defensive side.

BD: Are there a couple of guys who you think might fit Green Bay’s defense well?

DJ: Shemar Stewart and Maxwell Harrison are the two that I think kind of makes sense to them as guys who could fit right in.

BD: I’m glad you brought up Hairston. I watched his tape and my eyes popped out a bit. I spoke with him today and he has this aura around him. What do you like about him on the field?

DJ: He’s explosive. He ran a 4.29 (40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) and he plays to that time. The tape in 2023 was awesome. This year, it wasn’t as good. He was hurt, missed some time. He can play press, he can play off. He has make-up speed. He’s a really good player.

BD: I have to ask about the Detroit Lions too. A lot of people say they need to go with an edge rusher, but Alim McNeil is coming off ACL surgery. Levi Onwuzurike and DJ Reader are free agents in 2026. Is a defensive tackle in play?

DJ: Yeah. I think that they could look in a couple of different places. I think the interior offensive line. I think edge rusher, I think defensive tackle. I wouldn’t be surprised if their first three picks are those three positions in whatever order they want.

BD: Last question here — what’s one surprise you think could happen on Thursday that people aren’t seeing?

DJ: I think there’s going to be some heat on (Michigan tight end) Colston Loveland. I think you can see some action there. Teams could potentially try and move around and go position themselves to get there.

“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for The Daily Press (Escanaba). He can be reached at mvosburg@dailypress.net. Follow him on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch) and on X (@realmitchvburg).