Can a position switch save Nate Orchard’s career?

The Cleveland Browns may be considering moving Nate Orchard to defensive end, but even a position switch may not be enough for him to earn a roster spot.

The Cleveland Browns have put considerable work into their defensive front seven in the past year.

The club has added defensive linemen Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi and Caleb Brantley in the past two drafts, along with linebacker Jamie Collins via a trade and subsequent re-signing.

They topped it off by bringing in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in an attempt to wash away the stench left behind by Ray Horton and develop all the young talent into a defense that other teams fear.

The infusion of talent and a change in philosophy under Williams will give the defense a new look and create new roles for certain players.

It may also spell the last chance for another one of former general manager Ray Farmer’s draft picks, as Terry Pluto points out in his column today on cleveland.com:

"I hear they are looking at Nate Orchard as a defensive end in the 4-3 defense. The second-round pick was a linebacker in Ray Horton’s 3-4. He may be better suited for defensive end. He was a 4-3 defensive end at Utah when he had 18.5 sacks in 2014. He played only three games last season because of an ankle injury."

Orchard was selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft after finishing second in the nation in sacks. He was to follow in the footsteps of Browns legends Kamerion Wimbley and Barkevious Mingo as the next great college defensive end turned pass rushing terror at outside linebacker.

But just like Wimbley and Mingo, things have not gone as planned for Orchard.

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He appeared in 15 games his rookie season, making 11 starts, and finished with three sacks. Orchard only appeared in three games in 2016 before missing the remainder of the season with an injury, finishing the year with no sacks and just two tackles.

With the growth of the passing game in the NFL, teams spend a large amount of time during a game in a nickel defense, which under Williams means that the Browns take a linebacker off the field for the extra defensive back.

After signing Collins to a contract with more than $26 million in guaranteed money, and with linebacker Christian Kirksey becoming one of the league’s rising stars, they are not coming off the field any more than is necessary, which leaves Orchard on the outside.

Even making a more back to defensive end will not guarantee the underperforming third-year player a roster spot.

The Browns kept just seven defensive linemen on the final roster to start the 2016 season (eight if you count Ogbah, who was originally listed as a linebacker. Let’s assume they go with eight when the final roster cut downs take place in September, the first seven spots will likely go to Garrett, Ogbah, Nassib, Danny Shelton, Ogunjobi, Jamie Meder and Brantley.

That leaves Orchard fighting for a spot with 31-year-old Desmond Bryant, who missed all of 2016 with a pectoral injury, and Xavier Cooper, a fellow 2015 draft pick who has done about as much for the Browns as Orchard.

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Brown has done a lot of work to clean up Farmer’s mistakes as only have of Farmer’s 18 draft picks currently remain on Cleveland’s roster.

Don’t be surprised if, come September, Orchard’s name is added to that list.