In all honesty, this is the bust I feel the worst about having on this list. He probably should've been lower, like #10 or something, because of it.
Rogers Beckett was a very talented player, that's not the issue. The issue is that he was only a very productive player for the Chargers for about one season, and you expect more than that from someone picked in the 2nd round (43rd overall).
In his rookie season, Beckett saw action in all 16 games (most likely on special teams) and started 3 games at Free Safety. He finished the season with an interception and a sack to go along with 39 tackles. He locked up the Free Safety spot for the following year and, the Bolts hoped, for years to come.
In his only full year as a starter with San Diego, Rogers excelled. He collected 94 tackles to go with 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 5 defended passes. Those numbers do not appears to be too different from what Eric Weddle has put up as the Free Safety of the Chargers today.
The following season is where it started falling apart. Rogers had a hard time staying healthy in his third year, making only 10 starts and under-performing when he did get on the field. He finished the season with 34 tackles and no other stats to speak of. It was not the first impression Rogers was hoping to make on new Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, and he was replaced the following season by veteran free agent Jerry Wilson.
Rogers' career in Cincinnati proved to be similar to his time spent in San Diego. He had one productive, but injury-plagued season in which he managed 67 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 5 defended passes in just 9 games before following it up a disappointing 2004 where he collected just 19 tackles and 1 defended pass. He retired after the season with a neck injury.
I caught up with Beckett a couple of years ago and interviewed him for BFTB. So, what has he been doing since he got out of football?
A lot of different endeavors. After football I went back and finished up my Masters in Public Administration. I'm currently doing real estate investment and helping in my community.
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