Raiders countdown to kickoff: 9 is Isaac Whitney, who wore it best?

We’re into single digits until the start of the regular season. The preseason is behind us and the next time the Raiders players take the field it will be with their final 53-man roster game planning for the Titans. Will the guy wearing number 9 right now be with them? We’ll know pretty soon.

WR Isaac Whitney

This track star was one of the most recruited junior college transfer players in the nation. He chose USC because, who wouldn’t, and then got buried on the depth chart, seeing just 11 catches over two seasons and was off the radar, going undrafted.

Some of the skills that had him so heavily recruited showed up in camp with the Raiders and at one point he looked like he could make a push for a roster spot. The Raiders are fairly deep at wide receiver and at this point he is a long shot, with the practice squad looking like his best hope.

Who wore it best: P Shane Lechler (2000-12)

Two days after his draft classmate Sebastian Janikowski was the best to wear number 11, the guy who held his kicks for 13 NFL seasons gets his recognition. Lechler wasn't just the best Raiders punter since Ray Guy, he is statistically the best pure punter in NFL history. The team's 5th round pick in 2000 punted the air out of the ball with the most impressive and consistent arching spirals you'll ever see.

This former high school quarterback, is the NFL's all-time leader in career punt average with a 47.55. His 51.14 yards per punt in 2009 is second only to Sammy Baugh for the best ever punting yardage over a single season. That same season, he had the second highest net punting average in NFL history (43.85). He also holds the fourth best ever punting average in a season with 50.77 yards per punt in 2011, making him the only ever punter to average over 50 yards per punt in multiple seasons.

During his 13 seasons in Oakland he was named All Pro six times and a Pro Bowler 7 times. Back in 2013, he was set to become a free agent and had the chance to return to play for his hometown Houston Texans and he took it. In 2014 Ray Guy became the first ever full time punter to make the Hall of Fame. If there were ever anyone who deserves to be the second ever punter inducted, it's Lechler.