Las Vegas Raiders: 15 best draft-day steals of all-time

Another special teamer? Absolutely. Not just any special teamer though, one of the best punters to ever play the sport (sorry, Ray Guy). Back in 2000, Al Davis selected an electric punter from Texas A&M in the fifth round. His name? Shane Lechler. You may have heard of him by now, right?

Just recently actually, Lechler announced his retirement from the sport after an incredible 18-year career. Lechler spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Silver and Black, seemingly winning some sort of award or receiving some sort of honor every season. Nine times he was named to an All-Pro team, six First-Team, and three Second-Team. Seven times he was named a Pro Bowler.

Three times during his stay, he led the league in punting yards, although that was made easy because the team punted on seemingly every possession. Nevertheless, Lechler is easily one of the best punters in league history. He will undoubtedly find his name enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.

Often, teams can get by with signing undrafted punters or signing them as free agents, as many teams don’t like wasting draft capital on such a replaceable position. To cement the point, for a long time, Lechler was irreplaceable. He was the best player on a lot of Raiders teams over the years. He will be remembered as one of the franchise’s best draft picks.