Tory Taylor’s football career is continuing, heading to the NFL via a Day 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft!

On Saturday, the Chicago Bears officially made the move in the 4th round to grab Taylor. Iowa’s star special teams contributor went down as the 122nd overall pick in the draft.

When the draft concluded, Taylor went down as the only punter selected while 3 kickers were drafted, all in the 6th round. The 2023 draft saw 3 punters selected (all 6th or 7th-round picks) and the 2022 draft saw 4 punters selected with 2 of those players coming in the 4th round.

Taylor is the rare punter worthy of a mid-to-high round draft pick after his legendary career at Iowa. He shattered NCAA records and proved his powerful right leg can carry a heavy workload, so Taylor should be an immediate special teams contributor for the Bears.

After being drafted, Taylor admitted he was joking with his girlfriend (who is from Chicago) about landing with the Bears. He said it was truly a surprise but also an honor to land with the franchise.

Impact for the Bears

The Bears are hoping for a rebound season to get the franchise back on track, but they will be doing so with a rookie quarterback. Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick by Chicago, and the Bears would use their first 3 picks on the offensive side of the ball. (WR Rome Odunze and OT Kiran Amegadjie are the others.)

With a young QB, the offense is liable to be a work in progress, especially early in the season. That could lend to an early-season workload for Taylor, and his ability to flip the field will greatly benefit Chicago’s offense and defense in 2024.