Chicago Bears select Tory Taylor in fourth round of 2024 NFL Draft

Former Iowa punter Tory Taylor was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 22 pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Taylor played four seasons at Iowa, becoming one of the best punters in the country. He won the 2023 Ray Guy award and was a Unanimous All-American last season.

Taylor punted 295 times over the course of four years. He had a total yardage of 13,657 yards with a net average of 46.3 yards per punt.

Taylor might get NFL love in the middle rounds and as a stalwart on special teams for years to come.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Taylor was not ranked, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He played prep football career out of Melbourne (VIC) ProKick Australia.

What draft analysts are saying about Tory Taylor

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein evaluated the tape and gave his take on one of the top special teamers in the draft. The former Iowa punter went into the draft as a projected fourth or fifth round pick.

“Taylor’s leg strength matches his impressive size,” Zierlein wrote. “No punter was allowed to ply their craft more in recent years than Taylor thanks to Iowa’s struggling offense. He has proven to possess the power of an NFL punter and his hang-time is fairly solid when the rugby-style punts are removed from the evaluation process.

“The directional punting and touch will need sharpening, but the former Hawkeye could come off the board in the middle rounds and find work in the league.”