Which Arizona Wildcats Football alum had the best 2023 NFL season?
By Mason Duhon
Role players
GP: 8 (incl. playoffs). . 24 TKL, 2 PD (incl. playoffs). Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. LB. player. . Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. DFF. 42
Flannigan-Fowles caught on with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft. He's been on the team ever since and has been a fixture both on special teams and as the backup to standout linebacker Dre Greenlaw. The vast majority of his usage came in the latter half of the season as the war of attrition waged on. His 19 total tackles were a slight downtick from his 22 in the 2022-23 season, but he made enough plays in the playoffs to secure his roster spot for another year.
His most productive outing was in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Rams, when Greenlaw was benched to preserve him for the playoffs. Flannigan-Fowles posted 10 total tackles and three run-stuffs. In the NFC Divisional Round matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Flannigan-Fowles forced a fumble on a punt return that the Packers were lucky to fall on. Despite this, he didn't record a stat in the NFC Championship against the Detroit Lions.
The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl for the second time in four years, and a freak sideline injury that saw Greenlaw tear his Achilles should have meant more playing time for Flannigan-Fowles. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan instead sent Oren Burks in to get burnt to a crisp in pass coverage despite Flannigan-Fowles college experience as a safety. What ended as a four-tackle day with a pass defended should have been a much bigger opportunity for a player who's waited in the wings for longer.
15-20 FG, 19-22 PAT. Lucas Havrisik. K. LH. player. . GP: 9. 51. . Lucas Havrisik
Havrisik, who's currently a member of the Cleveland Browns, appeared in nine games for the Rams in the 2023-24 season as Brett Maher's replacement. Havrisik, who was signed to the Colts' practice squad as a free agent in the 2022 offseason, was signed to the Rams' active roster from the Browns; practice squad midseason last year.
His regular-season NFL debut came in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, where he went 2-2 on field goals and nailed a 33-yarder and a 47-yarder. The next week against the Green Bay Packers, he made a career-long 52-yarder and he accounted for the Rams' only points of the day. In Week 10, Havrisik hit the game-winning 22-yard field goal to beat the Seattle Seahawks. Against the Baltimore Ravens, he made another 50-plus-yard field goal when he nailed it from 51. His last good showing was against the New Orleans Saints, where he went 3-4 on his field goals and hit all three PATs for a season-high 12 points.
However, when the Rams played the New York Giants, Havrisik's occasional misses became too much for Sean McVay. He didn't attempt a single field goal and missed half of his four PATs. The Rams escaped with a 26-25 win, but Havrisik was waived the next day. He re-signed with the Browns in late January and will be looking to rehab his image.