ASU tackle Renell Wren impressing with athleticism at Senior Bowl

Renell Wren committed to the Arizona State football program as a pass-rushing defensive end and left as an interior tackle.

Those hybrid qualities might have hurt the NFL Draft stock for a lineman lacking a true position, but perhaps he’s cleared that up while at Senior Bowl practices this week in Mobile, Ala.

Let’s start with his measurements to start.

Wren measured in at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, well above his listed weight of 297 pounds from his senior year with the Sun Devils. That bulk projects well if teams see him more as a 3-technique. Add in a reach of 33 6/8 inches, plus a wingspan of 81 inches, and his length looks closer to that of a pass-rusher or offensive lineman.

How Wren used those measurables and exhibited the explosive get-off at the line of scrimmage this week at Senior Bowl practices has only helped build his stock.

NFL reporters at the practices took notice of Wren winning individual and team drills.

Renell Wren LIGHT WORK pic.twitter.com/e8oyrmz40d

— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 22, 2019

Renell Wren just devoured an outside zone run

— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 24, 2019

Renell Wren (6-4½ 315) shows his strength with the initial bull rush. Once he establishes inside hand placement, @Renell_Wren snatches the forward-leaning McCoy! #SeniorBowl

via @VochLombardi pic.twitter.com/dgWJ4PtNlC

— DLineVids (@DLineVids) January 24, 2019

ASU DT Renell Wren vs. NCST OC Garrett Bradbury

Wren’s sheer force from his bull rush is too much for Bradbury to get inside hand placement. pic.twitter.com/ZRrkWcN9vx

— Gavino Borquez (@GavinoBorquez) January 23, 2019

So far, NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread named Wren the event’s “most freakish athlete,” an honor that doesn’t stray far from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman’s comment on Wren this preseason; Feldman called him a “freak” due to his ability to squat 600 pounds and bench 430.

Wren also ran a 4.85-yard 40-yard dash last offseason.

Here’s what Goodbread wrote on Wren after speaking to the Sun Devil product at the Senior Bowl.

Arizona State DL Renell Wren is one of college football’s most athletic linemen, and he’s set some high goals for his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine next month. The former Sun Devils star believes he’ll record 35 to 40 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, a broad jump between 9-foot-11 and 10-2, a 40-yard dash in the high 4.8s, and a 33- to 36-inch vertical jump. Those are crazy numbers for a 315-pound nose guard. Compare his goals to the results of 2018 second-round pick Breeland Speaks, one of the top combine performers among interior linemen last year, and you get an idea of Wren’s lofty standards. Speaks, who started four games for the Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie, ran a 4.87-second 40 with a 32.5 vertical jump and a 9-2 broad jump, while passing on bench press testing. Stanford’s Harrison Phillips led all defensive linemen with 42 bench press reps.

As a redshirt senior, Wren produced 43 tackles, 4.5 for loss, and a sack this past season. He finished the year strong with seven tackles against Arizona in the regular season finale and six more in the Vegas Bowl loss to Fresno State.

Potentially a mid-round draft pick, Wren might be hurt by a deep recruiting class at the defensive line positions. But as he’s showing, his upside and workout performances heading into April could propel him favorably up teams’ big boards.

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