Did the Bears draft a generational talent for their special teams?
The Chicago Bears aced the 2024 NFL Draft. Although they only ended up with five selections, three of them have the potential to be the best at their respective positions in franchise history.
Chicago’s lackluster passing and receiving records are well known, but did you know there has only been one punter in team history to make a Pro Bowl?
The Bears have never drafted a punter with the talent of Iowa’s Tory Taylor, and his leg strength and accuracy could help him break several team punting marks.
From HawkeyeSports.com:
Taylor broke Iowa’s single season punting yardage record for a third consecutive season. The 2023 Ray Guy Award recipient has an NCAA-best 86 punts for 4,119 yards with his 47.9 average leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally. Thirty-six of his punts have traveled 50+ yards (six punts of 60+), 27 have been fair caught, 30 have been downed inside the 20, 11 inside the 10 and six inside the 5. He only has six touchbacks and opponents average just 8.8 yards per return. He has 288 punts for 13,297 yards — both school records — and his 46.2 career average will break Jason Baker’s mark come season’s end. The Australia native also was voted the Eddleman-Field Big Ten Punter of the Year.
Last year’s punter, Trenton Gill, struggled to pin opponents deep, and that has been Taylor’s specialty as a Hawkeye, so I asked our staffers this question.
Will Tory Taylor break Dave Finzer’s rookie record for punts inside the twenty-yard line (26 in 1984)?
And here’s what we had to say.
Josh Sunderbruch: I think he’s capable of it, but I hope he doesn’t get the chance. My guess is that he’ll contend with Finzer’s percentage of deep punts, but that the opportunities for him to ply his trade will be fewer than the 83 punts (5.2 per game) that Finzer faced.
Sam Householder: There’s a lot that goes into this, right? Offensive success, the rate they decide to go for it on fourth and short, especially in the “iffy zone” around midfield. I guess I will say no, but he definitely has a good chance to do so.
Aaron Leming: Man… That’s a tough one. I wish I could sit here and say that I was well-versed in Bears special teams records and/or expectations, but I’ll leave that one to CHGO’s Adam Hoge. Considering they took Taylor in the fourth round, and he does some otherworldly things with the ball in the air, I’ll say yes. I have no clue how or why he’ll break the record, but expectations should be high. Especially considering he’s the highest drafted punter since Mitch Wishnowski, who was taken No. 110 overall by San Francisco back in 2019 out of Utah.
ECD: Frankly, I’d rather not see our new punting sensation break any records this year. As Caleb Williams texted him, if everything goes as planned, he won’t be punting that much to begin with!
Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: For some perspective, there were 15 punters in 2023 that had more than 26 punts dropped inside the twenty, five of which were punting for winning teams,
Taylor placed better than a third of all his punts inside the twenty-yard line during his three years at Iowa, so if that percentage continues, I’d say there’s a very good chance he breaks the record.
Mason West: I can’t believe I’m this excited about a punter, but Tory Taylor is a VERY good punter. Some look at his age (27 before the season kicks off) as a negative, but I think that means more maturity and less covariance, which tends to set kickers/punters off course.
His 2023 average of 48.2 yards per punt at Iowa would already be tied for 12th in the NFL. Taylor had 32 punts downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line this year in 14 games. That would be fifth in the NFL in three fewer games. He placed 126 punts inside the 20-yard line in his college career. That’s good right?
I’ll say yes BUT if this offense is as efficient as we think it can be, there should be less punting than Bears fans are used to due to more TDs and FGs.
And besides, Caleb did text him to say, “Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here.”
Taylor Doll: He punted 93 times last year, so I am hoping we aren’t punting that much. I think Chicago’s offense will be able to move the ball in 2024, so he may have a good punting position when he’s needed, so I’ll say yes.
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