Top 10 interior defensive linemen in the 2019 NFL Draft

#9 Renell Wren, Arizona State

Wren plays with consistent leverage and a strong core, flashing some plays where he puts 300(+)-pounders flat on their backs, with a couple of them coming in

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Despite being a former four-star recruit and All-State pick from Saint Louis, Wren failed to make an impact through his first three years with the Sundevils, making just four combined starts and 38 total tackles during that stretch.

He started to become a more disruptive force last season as a full-time starter 43 tackles, 4.5 of them for loss and a sack. However, it wasn’t due to those numbers that Pac-12 coaches voted him honorable mention all-conference.

Wren can be a very disruptive run-defender, as he has a lot of shock in his hands and often times pushes his offensive linemen a few yards into the backfield before the handoff has even happened.

He plays with excellent extension and immediately stands up his opponents, grabbing cloth around the shoulder plates and pulling them off himself once the ball-carrier is around, who he wraps up and smacks to the ground in the process.

Wren plays with consistent leverage and a strong core, flashing some plays where he puts 300(+)-pounders flat on their backs, with a couple of them coming in the Michigan State game last year.

He lined up at true nose tackle in a four-point stance and gave Pac-12 centers fits off the snap. Wren incredible balance to withstand blows from the side on combo-blocks and holds his ground continuously, but also has the upfield burst to just mess things up before they can even get going at times.

The physical specimen has the pure power to push guards and centers back into the quarterback’s lap while having the grip-strength to utilize push-pull moves and take advantage of how he puts those guys on their heels in the first place.

While he doesn’t do it quite yet, he has the length and natural power to be a much more productive pass rusher overall. Wren shows excellent effort to chase around quarterbacks and when going after receivers after short catches.

He was part of several stunts and twists inside as well as being used on loops to the outside quite a bit as well. Wren was even dropped into hook-zones on occasions and showed better than expected movement in space for such a monstertruck-type of player.

Wren allows himself to be reached and shielded from run plays even if it has the optics of a win on tape. He loses vision on the backfield at times when he is running down the line on zone plays and tries to spin out of it, surrendering easy running lanes.

Overall he misses some opportunities for defensive stops by failing to disengage with more urgency. At times he just gets upfield and has a guard to guide him that way instead of holding the point of attack. Wren doesn’t show much of a plan as a pass-rusher, just running into people and not really displaying any secondary wins.

I never really saw him rush half the man on tape and I think he would benefit from a go-to move outside of the bull rush. There are plenty of opportunities on tape, where he could easily knock down passes at line of scrimmage if he realized to put his hands up as well.

As raw as Wren is as a pass-rusher, he had some nice one-on-one reps through all three days of Senior Bowl practice, winning with pure power and push-pull moves. His physical stature is astonishing and the amount of natural power is off the charts, but he doesn’t yet use it appropriately in all areas.

As probably the only player on this top-ten list, Wren’s best fit probably is base D-end in a 3-4 with the ability to slide inside on passing downs and a lot of room to grow on third downs.