NFL Draft Doug Gabriel Ronald Curry Shane Lechler

To make a statement, whoever the select with their fourth, fifth, and sixth round picks in April should start the season opener. Now let's be serious. It won't happen. But there is something that should happen. Oakland should actually let their late-rounders see the light of day, instead of keeping them confined to darkness of the practice complex.Have you ever heard of a guy named Shawn Johnson? How about Cody Spencer? Shurron Pierson? Dustin Rykert? If you have heard of one of them, it's understandable. If you have heard of 2-3 of them, I'm a bit worried. If you have heard of all four, you may need to get out of the house more often.Each one of the above names belong to players that were drafted by the after the third round between 2003 and 2005.As we all know, everyone that comes out of the draft is not necessarily expected to cut it in the NFL. One fourth rounder may not be a good enough competitor for NFL Europe, while another may become a perennial Pro Bowler. But that's something that the Raiders rarely even let you evaluate for yourself. It seems that many of the college standouts drafted in the later rounds of the NFL Draft become outcasts in a Raiders organization that lives and breathes on free agent acquisitions. As a result, many of Oakland's second-day picks end up getting cut almost immediately, or are sidelined until contract extension season rolls around.Looking primarily at the last two drafts for the Raiders, this could occur to linebacker Ryan Riddle, defensive tackle Anttaj Hawthorne, and wide receivers Johnnie Morant and Carlos Francis. It has already happened to the aforementioned defensive end Shawn Johnson and linebacker Cody Spencer; and it has also afflicted linebacker Andre Sommersell and 2005 offensive tackle Pete McMahon.Go ahead, Google the last four. You'll find that Cody Spencer is the all-star of the list with 27 career tackles for the Tennessee Titans.In 2006 and beyond, Oakland should think a bit more closely about their late-round selections and their future roles on the team. Tom Brady and Marc Bulger were taken in the 6th round of the 2000 Draft, Rudi Johnson was a fourth rounder in 2001, Randy McMichael was another fourth-round gem in 2002, and Bears' Pro Bowl corner Nate Vasher was a 4th rounder in 2004. And that's just a very condensed list of high-echelon players who were late-round gold mines.Oakland's "late-round rotting" trend seemingly started after the 1999 draft, whose two best players incongruously both came in the 5th round: Eric Barton and Roderick Coleman. For the six following years, however, there is very little to drool overhane Lechler in round five of 2000, Ronald Curry in round seven of 2002, Doug Gabriel in round five of 2003, and perhaps Courtney Anderson in round seven of 2004. But Lechler is a punter and would only logically go late in the draft; and Curry, Gabriel, and Anderson are just about on the borderline of essentials in Oakland.So take out Shane Lechler and that leaves just three players out of 26 fifth round or lower draftees dating back to the 2000 draft.And when I say "just three players," it pretty much means they did the bare minimum of touching the playing field in Oakland.Larry Ned, Shurron Pierson, Cliffton Black, Raymond Perrymanhe list of "who's that?" names just keeps flowing off the tongue?br />Maybe a "let Johnnie Morant play" petition should be started.