Getty Punter Tory Taylor of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears made something of a shocking move when they drafted Tory Taylor in the fourth round, and no one was more surprised than the former Iowa punter himself.
On Friday, May 10, via The Sick Podcast with Adam Rank, Chicago’s new punter detailed the surreal experience of the Bears selection of him.
#Bears 4th round pick Tory Taylor on what it means to be drafted by Chicago:
“I really wanted to come to Chicago because first and foremost it’s the sports capitol of America, it’s only 3 hours from Iowa city, Chicago Bears fans are like absolutely nuts”
It was amazing because I think I’ve said it a few times, my girlfriend is from Chicago, so she was always like, “The Bears, the Bears, the Bears this, the Bears that, I hope it’s the Bears.”
It got to pick 119 or 120, and I saw the Illinois number on my phone, and I was like, “No [bleeping] way. Is this really happening?” And it’s literally like a dream come true because I really, really wanted to come to Chicago, but I was like, “Oh man, are they really going to draft a punter? They only got four draft picks.”
It was really one of those things that was probably a bit of a stretch, but I really wanted to come to Chicago because, first and foremost, it’s the sports capital of America, it’s only three hours from Iowa City, and Chicago Bears fans are like absolutely nuts.
The team selected Taylor with the 121st overall pick.
Bears’ Tory Taylor Was Best Punter in NCAA During 2023 Season
GettyPunter Tory Taylor of the Chicago Bears.
Taylor was the best punter in the NCAA last season, and had plenty of work given the state of the Hawkeyes’ offense — 130th out of 133 teams in the FBS, per Yahoo Sports.
He won the Ray Guy Award as the country’s best punter in 2023, averaging 48.2 yards per kick across 93 attempts. Taylor pinned a total of 127 punts inside the 20-yard line of opposing offenses over the course of his four-year career at Iowa.
He now joins a revamped Bears offense that selected quarterback Caleb Williams No. 1 overall, wide receiver Rome Odunze with the 9th pick in the draft, signed Pro Bowl running back D’Andre Swift in free agency and traded with the Los Angeles Chargers for Pro Bowl wideout Keenan Allen.
Caleb Williams Made Promise to Tory Taylor After Bears Drafted Punter
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Due to the relatively static nature of the punter position at all levels of football, Taylor should translate to the NFL fairly well. However, if Williams has anything to say about it, his new teammate on special teams won’t get many chances to showcase his skills.
Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reported via X on April 27 about a message Williams sent to Taylor communicating as much after the Bears selected him in the fourth round.
“New Bears punter Tory Taylor said he got this text from Caleb Williams: ‘Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here,'” Fishbain wrote.
If Williams proves worth the investment Chicago made in him a couple weeks back, that could be true. Head coach Matt Eberflus named the rookie the starter unequivocally on Friday, per NFL.com.
“No conversation,” Eberflus said. “He’s the starter.”