Houston eyes a lucrative Thursday night move. With a solid roster, they're positioned to trade down and snag valuable draft capital for a future franchise passer.
The Houston Texans hold the 28th overall selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the franchise already rosters one of the best rosters in the NFL. There is not many holes within the group. The main areas that the Texans could want to focus on are the offensive line and defensive tackle, but there is a chance there is not a match left on the board by the time the 28th overall pick comes around. This could set Houston up in a spot to trade back in the event.
The only quarterback that is guaranteed to go in the first round is Fernando Mendoza, and he is going to be to going first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. The other quarterback with a chance to go in the first round is Ty Simpson out of Alabama. He could go earlier in the round to a team that has two first-round picks like the New York Jets or the Cleveland Browns, but it doesn't seem like either of those teams want to draft a quarterback high in 2026.
The Texans could allow another team to move back up into the first round, to the 28th overall pick, to draft Simpson. Teams do this because they want the chance to draft their franchise quarterback, and this also would give the team the chance to decide on a fifth-year option, which is huge considering how much quarterbacks can get paid.
The team that seems most likely to trade back up into the first round would be the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has the third overall pick in the draft, but that is way too high to select Simpson. The franchise has a need for a quarterback, but more importantly, it has a need for some excitement. No team has felt more irrelevant over the last few seasons, and trying to find a franchise quarterback could change that.
A potential trade may look something like the Cardinals receiving the 28th overall pick and the Texans receiving the 34th overall pick, and maybe a third or fourth round pick in 2027. The 2027 NFL Draft class is highly touted, and teams are trying to acquire capital for that event.
Houston already has a great roster and the front office did a good job addressing the offensive line and the running game through free agency and trades. This trade would give the team three picks in the second round, and five total picks in the top 110.