The Houston Texans beat the clock on Thursday night to add Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. as the third selection in the 88th NFL Draft.

After choosing Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud with the second selection, the Texans worked out a trade with the Arizona Cardinals to make the third pick, too.

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In the first round, teams have 10 minutes to make their selections. Houston general manager Nick Caserio said the Texans got the trade done and made the pick in that timeframe.

“We made the pick with C.J. there, and Arizona was on the clock,” Caserio said, “and we were really going back and forth on the trade compensation. I’d say the trade itself was actually consummated with about a minute and a half left on the clock, so it’s us to Arizona – OK, we have a deal. Us to the league – OK, we’re doing a trade with Arizona, here are the terms, here are the parameters. They have to match it up. OK, you’re good, you’re on the clock, be ready to submit the pick. So there’s a lot happening in a short period of time.”

Houston became the first team to make consecutive selections in the top five of an NFL Draft since 2000, when the Washington Redskins picked Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington at No. 2 and Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels at No. 3.

“As far as the trade is concerned, it just really comes down to doing what we feel is best for the football team,” Caserio said, “and it was an opportunity to get a player who we thought very highly of. We knew that he wasn’t going to last. We felt that adding him to our football team was something that we wanted to do.

“Can’t say enough good things about Will. Just the person that he is, the human being that he is, his leadership. And unsolicited before the draft, the praise was just incredible.”

To get the third choice, the Texans traded the No. 12 and No. 33 picks in this year’s draft and first- and third-round selections in the 2024 draft to the Cardinals. Houston also received the 105th choice in this year’s draft.

According to the trade charts that teams use to compare the value of draft picks, the Texans gave up too much to move into position to pick Anderson.

“From our perspective, I would tell it’s not about what the points tell you on the chart,” Caserio said. “If you have conviction about a player and you want a player and you think the trade is the right thing for you to do, then you go ahead and do it, which is what we did. We’re certainly not worried about what the points are and what the trade chart says. It doesn’t really mean anything, so the trade was really driven more by this was a player we thought would bring a lot of value to our team, so that’s why we did it.”

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Anderson said it was reassuring to see how much Houston wanted to have him on the team by making the trade.

“They just have a ton of respect for me,” Anderson said. “They think I’m a special player. And it just gives me so much more confidence to walk in there and be myself, be Will Anderson, knowing that I have a coaching staff that really wanted me and really see something in me. And I think for me, that’s really what I’m big on – relationships — so just to see that, it makes me want to go 10 times harder.”

Stroud was the second quarterback selected, after the Panthers picked Anderson’s Crimson Tide teammate Bryce Young at No. 1.

“A different school and a different quarterback, but same mission,” Anderson said. “C.J.’s a great leader, a great person, a great player, and I’m just going to keep doing my thing. Just being Will Anderson, having a relentless mindset. …

“I played with someone like C.J. It gives me so much confidence because I know what type of person he is, what type of player he is and what type of brother and teammate he’s going to be.”

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Houston participated in the draft for the first time in 2002, and during 20 years of picks had selected four players from Alabama. But in their past eight picks, the Texans have chosen a Crimson Tide alumnus three times. In Houston, Anderson will join former Alabama teammates John Metchie III and Christian Harris, the Texans’ second- and third-round selections last year.

Houston’s coach is DeMeco Ryans, who, like Anderson, was an All-American linebacker for Alabama.

“It was great,” Anderson said of meeting Ryans during the draft process. “The first time I walked in there, I just felt the energy, the whole coaching staff. It just felt real, felt authentic, and I just knew that was the place for me.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.