The Chicago Bears have addressed offense in a big way in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick, and Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third round at pick No. 75. And in the fourth round, the Bears went a very different route: punter.
Chicago selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor at pick No. 122. The Australian — who turns 27 in July — is no ordinary punter. The 2023 Ray Guy Award winner has a powerful right leg and routinely booms punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
NFL Network’s Rich Eisen displayed plenty of excitement for the pick:
"Punters are WEAPONS too… The Bears saved the best for last." – Rich Eisen LOVES the Bears taking Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round 🏈🎙️🔥 #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/XMdyhghosb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 27, 2024
And the Bears’ new quarterback welcomed Taylor to the team in a hilarious way.
Taylor told Chicago media that Williams sent him a text after the pick: “Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here.”
New Bears punter Tory Taylor said he got this text from Caleb Williams: "Hey, you're not going to punt too much here."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) April 27, 2024
There’s the Caleb Williams confidence on full display.
Bears fans certainly hope Williams is right. After all, when the offense is performing well, the punter isn’t so necessary.
But we know how this goes and especially vs good teams and defenses: there are going to be times for any team where the punter and field position are very important. Taylor has the ability to pin opposing teams back and flip the field position.
And we’ll close with this tweet from former NFL Red Zone host Andrew Siciliano:
Bears have drafted USC, Washington, and Iowa's best weapons.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 27, 2024
