ALAMEDA — Sitting on a bench outside the performance center at the Raiders’ practice facility, Sebastian Janikowski is smiling, relaxed and for the most part, satisfied.

The man known as “Seabass” is 17 years removed from being an unlikely first-round draft pick from Florida State. Imagine, a kicker — a kicker — taken with the 17th overall selection. It was considered a grand over-reach by the unpredictable Al Davis, who was reacting to his team’s 8-8 record due in part to kicking issues.

When the pick was made, Janikowski and a friend were on a Florida golf course.

“I was already on hole No. 4,” Janikowski said. “St. Louis had visited me in Tallahassee. They were interested in taking me with the 31st pick. I figured I’d go hit some golf balls.”

It was duly noted at the time that his conference call with local media was conducted when Janikowski was, ahem, at the 19th hole in the golf course lounge.

Yet the last men standing from the 2000 draft class are Janikowski, former teammate and fifth-round pick Shane Lechler, and some guy named Tom Brady, taken as an after thought in the sixth round by New England.

Every day life was a challenge for Janikowski, but the wins came with regularity.

“We went to the playoffs the first three years,” Janikowski said. “So in my head, I’m thinking, ‘It’s going to be this way every year. This is pretty cool.’ ”

In those days, the “Polish Cannon” was a loose cannon, with arrests involving alcohol dating to his days in college and through a DUI in Oakland in 2002.

Reading this on your iPhone or iPad? Check out our new Apple News app channel here.

That guy is long gone, replaced by a married father of three with twin 4-year-old girls plus a third girl who was born Monday. Janikowski and his wife, Lori, were married in 2008 after having dated for five years.

“It makes you realize how precious life is. It slows you down,” Janikowski said. “You go home and play with your kids. You don’t go to the club and get drunk. You take them out to soccer practice, to swimming. That will change you a lot.”

He lights up when talking about his twin girls, protective enough as a father to decline to give their names.

“One definitely looks like me, acts like me. She’s shy like me. I don’t do a lot of interviews, I’m not comfortable doing it.” Janikowski said. “The other one is more like her mom, looks like her mom and has an outgoing personality. Will walk up to anyone and say ‘Hi’ and will start playing. Two completely different people.”

Janikowski isn’t proud of his past, but not ashamed either. “I’ve lived two lives,” he said. In that regard he’s similar to Charles Woodson, who put aside his wilder days from his first phase with the Raiders and returned a married father of two with a better work ethic and a different outlook.

Join the conversation on Reddit

Long a non-participant in the Raiders’ offseason program, Janikowski has been at the facility the last two years at the behest of coach Jack Del Rio, who finally got the team back into the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season.

Janikowski can hardly believe his good fortune, marveling at the talents of franchise foundation players such as quarterback Derek Carr and edge rusher Khalil Mack.

“Guys are committed to the process that Jack, Reggie (McKenzie) and Mark (Davis) brought in,” Janikowski said, gesturing to the performance center behind him. “We’ve got new facilities, they’re cooking food for us . . . we never had that before. It’s a young team with young talent. We’re going to be good for three, four, five . . . seven years, whatever.

“You’ve got Khalil. You’ve got Carr. We’ve been struggling with quarterbacks since (Rich) Gannon left. We’ve got a quarterback that can fling it.”

Janikowski leads the Raiders with 121 points, converting 29 of 35 field goals. He’s perfect from 39 yards and in, with just one miss inside of 49 yards. He was 4 for 4 in a 19-16 win over San Diego and believes he’s kicking better than ever.

He has bonded with the free-spirited Marquette King, who replaced Lechler after the 2012 season. The two did an ESPN feature with soccer star Abby Wambach in which they took turns kicking heads of lettuce and loaves of bread. It showed a side of Janikowski’s personality he doesn’t often part with except among those he knows and trusts.

Janikowski and long-snapper Jon Condo, both married fathers, find King to be a source of amusement, a way of keeping them thinking young.

“That’s just him. He’s not showing off,” Janikowski said. “That’s who he is and that’s why I respect him.”

Janikowski is fixated on winning a Super Bowl, but at age 38, hasn’t given a thought to retirement. He’s due to make just over $4 million in salary in 2017, the last year of his contract.

“I’ll play as long as I can,” Janikowski said. “If they need my services, I’ll be here. If not, you never know what happens.”

Asked his biggest point of pride in a 17-year career, Janikowski has a quick answer.

“Longevity. Because of what I went through my first four or five years, how I lived my life, people thought I wouldn’t survive this long,” Janikowski said. “The Raiders could have just kicked me out after the third year. But they stuck with me. I appreciate it. I’ve got plenty of years left, I think.”