Here are some pictures of the former Arizona Wildcats that are currently playing in the NFL.
There have been NFL legends that came from the University of Arizona, including past greats Rob Gronkowski, Tedy Bruschi and Lance Briggs who paved the way for guys like Nick Foles and Will Parks.
With the 2022 season at the halfway mark, here are former Arizona Wildcats that are playing today:
(K) Nick Folk: He is currently in his 15th season in the NFL and fourth with the New England Patriots. Throughout the first 10 weeks of the 2022 season, Folk has scored the fourth most points among kickers with 77 and is second in made field goals with 19.
(QB) Nick Foles: When you think of Arizona players in the NFL, this is the guy most people will think of. Foles won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2017 season while winning Super Bowl MVP that year as well. Since then, he has played for three different teams: Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, where he is a backup. He has only started 12 games since his last Eagles run.
(S) Will Parks: He is in his seventh season in the NFL after playing in Tucson for four seasons. Parks was a sixth-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos and has since played on three other teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and his current team, the New York Jets.
(RB) J.J. Taylor: After being the Wildcats main running back from 2016-19, his future looked unknown after he went undrafted. Taylor had over 1,700 total yards in his junior UA season while showing his versatility. Luckily, he got a training deal from the New England Patriots and ended up signing for a few years. He has only played in 12 games throughout three seasons but scored two touchdowns last year.
(DT) Roy Lopez: He is one of the biggest success stories to come from this Arizona football program in recent years. Lopez transferred to Arizona for his fifth and final season of college football in 2020 and showed enough potential to be a sixth-round NFL draft pick. Most late-round picks do not see a ton of playing time right away, but Lopez has started in 21 of his first 25 games for the Houston Texans.
(WR) Stanley Berryhill III: During a dark period of Arizona football, Berryhill was a bright spot. He had a great senior season, catching 83 balls for 744 yards. He went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft but landed on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. He is now on the Detroit Lions practice squad.
(RB) Gary Brightwell: After a shortened 2020 season cut Brightwell’s senior year short, it was unknown if he could make it in the NFL. The New York Giants took a shot on him by selecting him in the sixth round, and he has shown flashes of greatness in limited playing time so far, including scoring a touchdown in week five against the Green Bay Packers.
(DB) Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles: After four years as a Wildcat, he went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft but was signed by the San Francisco 49ers. He has started limited games but has 52 total tackles in his first three years in the league.
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