When you’re a second round pick in the NFL draft, you’re expected to be, at worst, a solid contributor for the team that invested in you. And as a first team All-PAC-12 selection and the winner of the 2014 Ted Hendricks Award (given to the best defensive end in the country), you could say expectations were high for Nate Orchard.
Orchard, a 6’3”, 256 pound defensive end/linebacker out of Utah, did have a good start to his career, recording three sacks while playing in 15 games with 11 starts for the Cleveland Browns in his rookie season. An injury-shortened 2016 season appears to have been his downfall, as he never regained his starting spot, and was released prior to the 2018 season.