The Chicago Bears used their first three picks of the 2024 NFL Draft to bolster the offense. Ryan Poles utilized the club's fourth selection to upgrade the special teams.
The Bears selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor with the No. 122 overall pick in the fourth round on Saturday.
The top punting prospect entering the draft, the Australian native was an All-American booter and one of Iowa's best weapons. At 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, Taylor's size matches his leg strength, and he can regularly plant punts inside the 20.
With Iowa's offensive struggles, Taylor had plenty of opportunities to show off his skill. In 2023, he won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter, was named a first-team All-American, Big Ten Conference Punter of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten Conference. In 2023, he set the NCAA record for single-season punting yardage with 4,479 (Johnny Pingel, Michigan State, 1938).
It was an interesting move for Poles to use a fourth-round pick on a punter. Chicago snagged Caleb Williams No. 1 overall, grabbed stud wideout Rome Odunze at No. 9, offensive tackle with upside Kiran Amegadjie in the third round and Taylor in the fourth.
Taylor said after being drafted he received a text from Williams, promising that "Hey, you're not going to punt too much here," per The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain.
The punter wasn't the final pick for Poles. The Bears traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to Buffalo for the No. 144 overall selection in the fifth round. Chicago used the pick to bolster the defense, adding defensive end Austin Booker out of Kansas.
