FanHouse Shane Lechler

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Here's the good news: The Saints got the guy they and their fans wanted all along in 14th-overall selection Malcolm Jenkins, the cornerback/safety who should seriously upgrade the Saints' secondary no matter where he plays.

Here's the puzzling news: After spending the first three of their four picks on defense, the team inexplicably traded up from the seventh round to the fifth to select ... a punter, Thomas Morstead. As much of an impact as Jenkins will likely make, it's the performance of Morstead that will, in the near future, be the measure of the team's 2009 draft.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

The Oakland Raiders are coming off their sixth straight losing season and will be entering 2009 with their fifth different head coach in seven years.

For the second consecutive offseason, the Raiders have spent a gargantuan amount of money on cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson, and punter Shane Lechler. The Raiders also find themselves in their customary spot in the top 10 of the NFL draft, and their biggest need is pretty obvious.

In news that would be nothing short of a shock, it appears as if the Oakland Raiders are closing in on a long-term contract extension with Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. It's long been assumed that the Raiders would have to use the franchise tag on him for a second straight year, but the two sides are apparently close to a contract extension.

Earlier in the day, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee offered up a quick report that a deal could be close. Now, Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated claims Asomugha's agent, Tom Condon, has already forwarded a potential contract to the NFL for approval.

Heading into this offseason the Oakland Raiders had two key free agents: cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler. Al Davis made it clear that if he was going to use his one franchise tag on anybody, it would be one of those two players.

Turns out, he's not going to need to use it on Lechler, as the two sides have come to an agreement on a four-year contract extension, according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter. The deal is worth $12 million, which would make him the highest-paid punter in the league.

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has already made it known that he plans to use his exclusive rights franchise tag on one of Nnamdi Asomugha or Shane Lechler. It's the only way he'll be able to keep either player, as both would probably be willing to bolt the dysfunctional land of Raider nation for greener pastures (and competitive football).

In Lechler's case, he would probably like to leave so he can avoid getting punched in the face by defensive linemen. According to David White of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lechler, the Raiders' punter for the past nine years, was on the receiving end of a Terdell Sands punch to the face following the team's 31-10 win against division-rival Denver on November 23. How's that for celebrating a 21-point win?

On Tuesday, the NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters for the 2009 exhibition/all-star game and the Oakland Raiders, owners of three wins on the season, found out they would be sending two players to this season's game -- cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and punter Shane Lechler. Both players are more than deserving, so it's nice to see the voters ignore the team's record and send two players that are clearly worthy of the honor.

The problem for the Raiders is, both of these guys just happen to be free agents at the end of the season, and both, I'm guessing, would like to play for a team that has a chance to win more than five games a season, something the Raiders haven't done since 2002, when they played in the Super Bowl against Tampa Bay.

Having said that, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune decided to ask the two pro bowl players -- and free-agents-to-be -- which one should be designated as the franchise player following the season.

If you were fired up for this rivalry game, well, I give you credit. The Raiders and Chiefs entered Sunday's game with a combined four wins on the season, and the play, as you would you expect, reflected that lofty win total, as the Chiefs pulled out a 20-13 win.

The biggest highlight reel play of the day was the Raiders hilarious attempt of a fake field goal, which resulted in Shane Lechler lateraling the ball to, uh, nobody, while Chiefs rookie Maurice Leggett (Valdosta State, representing) picked it up and raced 67 yards for a touchdown.

Other than that? Not much else took place.

A week after throwing only one incomplete pass, the good news for JaMarcus Russell is he completed the same number of passes. The bad news is, he did so on 28 attempts, as opposed to the 11 he threw a week ago. Even more incredible, for the fifth consecutive game, the Raiders again only had one wide receiver catch a pass, as Ronald Curry hauled in one pass for a whopping zero yards. That was it for Raiders receivers. One catch. Zero yards.