St. Louis moved up 11 spots in the fifth round on April 24,…
St. Louis moved up 11 spots in the fifth round on April 24, 2005, sending Tampa Bay picks No. 155 and No. 231 for No. 144. The Rams selected Notre Dame tight end Jerome Collins, who appeared in only three regular-season games as a rookie without a start, reception or rushing attempt. Collins never played another NFL regular-season game, leaving St. Louis with only a brief reserve contribution from the trade-up.
Los Angeles Rams Received
- pick 2005 fifth round pick (#144- Jerome Collins )
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Received
- pick 2005 fifth round pick (#155- Larry Brackins )
- pick 2005 seventh round pick (#231- Hamza Abdullah )
Trade Analysis
The draft-day structure is clearly recorded. On April 24, 2005, Tampa Bay sent pick No. 144 to St. Louis for picks No. 155 and No. 231. The Rams used No. 144 on Notre Dame tight end Jerome Collins. Tampa Bay used No. 155 on Pearl River Community College wide receiver Larry Brackins and No. 231 on Washington State safety Hamza Abdullah. The legacy row had the right picks and players, but the actual team outcomes need to be separated from Abdullah's later NFL career with Denver and Arizona.
Collins supplied only minimal value to St. Louis. NFL and Pro Football Reference records credit him with three regular-season appearances in 2005, no starts and no offensive statistics. Those three games were his entire NFL regular-season career. For a fifth-round trade-up that cost an additional seventh-round selection, the Rams did not receive the developmental payoff they were seeking, even though Collins at least reached the active roster and appeared in games.
Tampa Bay received no regular-season contribution from Brackins. The Buccaneers initially kept the fifth-round receiver on the 53-man roster, waived him shortly afterward, and brought him back to the practice squad after he cleared waivers. Team coverage states that he spent the entire 2005 season on the practice squad, and NFL career records show no regular-season appearances. Tampa Bay released him during the 2006 offseason, ending his tenure without an NFL game for the club.
Abdullah's later seven-year NFL career should not be credited to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay waived him at the 2005 final cutdown, later returned him to the practice squad, and then lost him when Denver signed him to its active roster on November 1. Buccaneers coverage explicitly noted that Abdullah never appeared on Tampa Bay's active roster. He eventually played 47 NFL games with eight starts for Denver and Arizona, but those results came after Tampa Bay no longer controlled his rights. For this trade evaluation, No. 231 produced practice-squad time rather than Buccaneers game value.
The transaction therefore belongs in the low-value Even Trade tier. St. Louis can point to three Collins appearances, while Tampa Bay received no regular-season games from either player it selected. That difference is too small to support a meaningful long-term winner, especially because none of the direct assets became a durable contributor for the acquiring club. C- grades for both teams reflect a draft-day exchange that generated almost no lasting team value on either side.