The Arizona Cardinals were dealt a blow to their 2024 NFL draft status on Saturday. The Houston Texans won their Week 18 game against the Indianapolis Colts 23-19, clinching a playoff berth in quarterback C.J. Stroud’s rookie season.
With the win, their draft pick, which belongs to the Cardinals after a draft-day trade in 2023, moves down and is undetermined.
Entering the week, they had the 17th pick in the draft.
Now, the pick will be determined by a combination of what round of the playoffs they lose and their regular-season record.
The losers in the wild card round will have picks 19-24, based on their regular-season records. If they win their first-round game, that pick will drop to somewhere between the 25th and 28th picks.
Most believed the Cardinals would end up with two draft picks in the top five of the draft, as both Arizona and Houston were expected to be bad.
The Cardinals are 4-12 and likely will have a top-five pick but the Texans went 10-7 with Stroud at quarterback under rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans.
The Texans are in the playoffs and could even win the AFC South. If the Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, the Texans will be AFC South champs and host a first-round playoff game.
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