Texans Crush Browns, Bolster Draft Pick With Playoff Win

The Houston Texans traded Deshaun Watson for three first-round picks to the Cleveland Browns and still have won a playoff game before the AFC North franchise.

The Houston Texans know where they'll be selecting in April's draft.

With the 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the AFC wild-card round, the Texans will select between picks No.19-22 in the 2024 draft depending on the weekend's outcome. Houston owns the Browns' first-round pick as part of the trade package to help Cleveland land Deshaun Watson.

Houston finished with a 10-7 record after defeating the Indianapolis Colts last week to help clinch its first AFC South title since 2019. The Texans now await the results of the three other games before determining where they'll play in the AFC Divisional Round.

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After Houston selected quarterback C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 pick, general manager Nick Caserio got aggressive in securing the talents of defensive end Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama. The Texans traded the Arizona Cardinals two first-round picks, including their 2024 pick, to move up nine spots and select Anderson.

The move paid dividends for Caserio and Co. as Anderson broke J.J. Watt's rookie sack record with seven takedowns during the regular season. Arizona must wait another week to know where its second first-round pick resides.

Stroud secured his status as the face of the franchise, throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns. His 246 passing yards in the first half marked the most yards thrown by a rookie in a playoff game since play-by-play was tracked beginning in 1991.

Stroud also became the first rookie quarterback to win a playoff game since Mark Sanchez in 2009. A favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, the rookie phenom finished with the regular season completing 64 percent of his throws for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns against five interceptions.

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Stroud became the fifth rookie passer in league history to throw for 4,000 yards, joining Andrew Luck, Justin Herbert, Cam Newton, and Jameis Winston.

This marks the first time Houston has selected outside the top 20 in the draft since 2019 when it used the No. 23 pick on offensive tackle Tytus Howard out of Alabama State. 

Houston's first-round pick in 2022 acquired by Cleveland was initially at No. 13, but after a trade back, the Texans used the No. 15 pick to select offensive lineman Kenyon Green out of Texas A&M.

The 2024 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 25-27 in Detroit.