What Texans’ playoff loss means for Cardinals’ 2nd 1st-round pick

The Houston Texans’ impressive run under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud came to an end on Saturday following a 34-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

For the Arizona Cardinals and their fans, that means their second first-round pick acquired in a draft-day trade with Houston in 2023 cannot be lower than 27th.

There’s still some movement to be had, though.

Arizona eyes on Packers, Buccaneers

A chance to move up the draft board is still possible for the Texans.

It’ll just come down to what both the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers do in their respective matchups.

Thanks to their 9-8 marks compared to the Texans at 10-7, the only way Houston can for sure climb up the order is with a win by either Green Bay or Tampa Bay. With a pair of victories, Arizona would garner the 25th pick. That would be the best-case scenario at this point for the Cardinals, who already hold the No. 4 pick in the draft.

That, however, is a tough order, with Green Bay taking on the No. 1-seeded San Francisco 49ers and the Buccaneers going up against the No. 2-seeded Detroit Lions.

And unfortunately, that stretch of the draft order won’t be cemented in until after Buccaneers-Lions on Sunday afternoon.

For now, it’s a game of sit-and-wait.

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