Like so many other teams over the last seven years, the Houston Texans watched their season end at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday evening.
Behind 117 receiving yards from tight end Travis Kelce and eight sacks from their defense, the Kansas City Chiefs rolled to a 23–14 win to advance to their seventh straight AFC championship game. Texans running back Joe Mixon rushed for 88 yards and a score, and quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards on 19-of-28 passing, but it wasn't enough as Houston was sent packing into the offseason.
And now, the Texans' attention turns to the 2025 NFL draft.
Per the NFL rulebook, the four teams that are eliminated in the divisional round select between picks No. 25 and No. 28 in the first round—and in reverse order of their final regular-season records. If two (or more) teams have the same record, it goes to the strength of schedule tiebreaker, with the better pick awarded to the team that played the weaker schedule.
After their loss to the Chiefs on Saturday, the Texans—one of two 10–7 teams to make the divisional round—are locked in at the No. 25 pick in the 2025 draft. Even if the Los Angeles Rams (10–7) lose to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Houston will remain at No. 25 because they have a lower strength of schedule (.481) than the Rams (.505).
Here's an updated look at the 2025 NFL draft order following the Texans' loss:
Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order
PICK
TEAM
RECORD
SOS
1
Titans
3–14
.522
2
Browns
3–14
.536
3
Giants
3–14
.554
4
Patriots
4–13
.471
5
Jaguars
4–13
.478
6
Raiders
4–13
.540
7
Jets
5–12
.495
8
Panthers
5–12
.498
9
Saints
5–12
.505
10
Bears
5–12
.554
11
49ers
6–11
.564
12
Cowboys
7–10
.522
13
Dolphins
8–9
.419
14
Colts
8–9
.457
15
Falcons
8–9
.519
16
Cardinals
8–9
.536
17
Bengals
9–8
.478
18
Seahawks
10–7
.498
—
WILD-CARD ROUND LOSERS
—
—
19
Buccaneers
10–7
.502
20
Broncos
10–7
.502
21
Steelers
10–7
.502
22
Chargers
11–6
.467
23
Packers
11–6
.533
24
Vikings
14–3
.498
—
DIVISIONAL ROUND LOSERS
—
—
25
Texans
10–7
.481
26
27
28
—
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP LOSERS
—
—
29
30
—
SUPER BOWL TEAMS
—
—
31
32
