LAKE FOREST — The Bears selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor with the 122nd pick in the fourth round on Saturday’s Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Taylor holds nearly every record one could think of when it comes to punting. His 295 punts for 13,657 yards is a school record for the Hawkeyes. Taylor also won the 2023 Ray Guy Award as a senior — which is given to college football’s top punter.
“I was always pretty confident that I was going to get drafted,” Taylor said. “It was really just a matter of how high. It’s funny my girlfriend’s from Chicago. I was like imagine the Bears use their pick at 122. And then at like 115 I just said it as a joke to my girlfriend I was like only seven picks away. There’s not many punters that are drafted high these days. It’s just really an absolute honor to be a Bear. I just can’t really believe it to be honest. It’s crazy.”
What isn’t crazy is how Taylor can impact this Bears team. Midlands area scout Drew Raucina highlighted what makes Taylor a special player.
“The leg strength,” Raucina said. “The way he can flip the field. He’s going to help our defense. Everything about that he’s going to help us come in here immediately and make an impact.”
Last season, Trenton Gill finished his second season in the NFL with a punt average of 46.1 yards — which ranked 26th in the NFL. Gill also finished dead last with his 38 net average punts yards.
The Bears saw an opportunity to upgrade the punter position and did so by drafting Taylor in the fourth round.
Not long after Taylor was selected, he received a message from his fellow rookie teammate.
“Caleb (Williams) just texted me before saying, ‘hey you’re not going to punt too much here,’ which is great,” Taylor said. “That was pretty funny.”
Ideally, that would be the best option — not seeing Taylor on the field because the offense is doing its job and scoring points.
However, that’s not reality. So when Taylor is asked to punt, he will be ready to do his job.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be you or just me being me,” Taylor said. “Doing what I’m good at. There’s a lot of guys that do different things. For me, it’s all about just doing what I’m good at. That’s what the Bears are going to get. Someone who can kick for distance and hangtime, but can also pin them deep and place it where he wants. So that’s what I’m really excited about.”
