:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72225392/1431854582.0.jpg "2023 NFL Draft: Cardinals trade No. 3 pick to Texans")
The Arizona Cardinals have made a major move during the 2023 NFL Draft, sending the No. 3 pick to the Houston Texans. The Texans, in turn, used the pick to select Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. The Cardinals will get back the No. 12 pick and the No. 33 pick along with a first and a third in 2024.
Reports began to surface on Thursday afternoon that the team was looking to move back in the first round and now they've done just that. Coming off a disappointing 4-13 campaign in 2022, the Cardinals have a wide variety of needs entering the draft and a few prospects were being projected as the potential No. 3 pick for the franchise. Those players projected by draft analysts in mock drafts included the likes of Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson, Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez, and Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. Instead, AZ has opted to go for more draft capital as it restructures things under first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon.