3 fun facts about new Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Renell Wren
Don’t focus squarely on Wren’s numbers. The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t.
Of course, we were going to bring up stats. As football fans, we obsess over numbers, but in terms of those that Renell Wren has produced, you may want to pump the breaks if you think you’re going to hop on Pro Football Focus and be overwhelmed with what you see.
Give this young man a chance though. You may find out that you’re reasonably impressed. Here’s some background as we put a stamp on this one.
2. We’re talking about a former two-sport athlete and a monster in the weight room.
Wren played both football and basketball at the prep level in his hometown of Saint Louis, eventually earning some interest from a few Division I teams. He was named a four-star defensive end and ranked as the top defensive lineman in Missouri by ESPN.
In his final year at Arizona State under former Eagle Herm Edwards, he racked up 43 tackles and a sack, giving him 81 tackles and three sacks in his 29-game career. He’s also a monster in his preparation having won the Sun Devils’ Tim Landers Iron Man Award, an award given for exemplary work ethic in the weight room, on the field, and in the community.
It appears the Birds have added another young man with high character to the roster.
3. When you weigh things, the numbers look better than they did at first glance.
Whether DTs enjoy hearing this or not, life in the NFL for someone playing that position can often involve eating up blocks, filling gaps, and allowing your teammates to make the plays, so when you look at the fact that Wren’s only mustered nine total tackles in 12 games, you have to remember a couple of key points.
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To close the most recent season, he was called up from the practice squad and played 41 snaps in the regular-season finale versus the Cleveland Browns, a game the Bengals weren’t doing all that they could do to win. During his rookie campaign, he was on the field for 154 total defensive snaps and started in two of his 11 in-game appearances.