It seems so long ago when so many national pundits were predicting the Cardinals were going to hold both the first and second picks in the 2024 draft, after trading for the Texans' first pick last April and many predicting doom for both teams.

But here, prior to the team's playing each other Sunday in Houston, it's far from it. The Texans actually find themselves in the playoff hunt at 5-4 -- if the season ended today (which it does not, just to clarify), the Texans' pick would be the 20th of the first round. A nice pick for the Cardinals, but definitely not top 5.

The Cardinals have struggled and currently have the No. 4 pick -- but with Kyler Murray's return, there will be some victories down the stretch. Teams are so tightly bunched (and the Cardinals have such a hard schedule, which actually hurts teams in the draft order tiebreak) that three or four wins would likely knock the Cardinals out of the top 10.

There is still a lot of football left to determine how that all plays out. Whatever the result is Sunday, the Cardinals' draft spot will be both helped and hurt.  But the draft is about much more than just the first round, and however it looks by draft day, the Cardinals are going to be well-positioned.