Where Texans Will Select in 2025 NFL Draft After Playoff Loss to Chiefs

Houston's attention now turns to the NFL draft.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans fell short Saturday night in the divisional round.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans fell short Saturday night in the divisional round. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
In this story:

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


More of the Latest Around the NFL

feed


Published
Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.