At least the Chicago Bears had plenty of film on Iowa State punter Torrie Taylor.
Taylor was a frequent contributor on a Hawkeyes team that was challenged offensively. He had multiple opportunities to punt and get the ball after three-and-outs. And he was very good at punting the ball.
He did well enough for the Bears to take Taylor in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Taylor was the first kicker or punter taken in this year's draft.
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It's not every day you see a kicker or punter go that high, but it does happen. Based on draft history, two punters went in the fourth round in 2022: Jordan Stout to the Baltimore Ravens and Jake Camarda to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2019, the San Francisco 49ers took Mitch Wishnowski in the fourth round. Before Saturday, they were the only players since 2012 to advance past the fourth round.
The Bears paid a lot of money but got something good. Taylor won the Ray Guy Award last season, given to college football's best punter. He gained 4,479 yards last season, setting a single-season record for punting yards that had stood for 85 years. Iowa really punted a lot last season. His average of 48.2 yards per punt last season and career average of 46.3 yards per punt also set NCAA records.
Caleb Williams, who was selected by the Bears with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, reportedly sent Taylor a text message saying he would not be on the field as much as he was in college.
The Bears' new punter, Torrie Taylor, said he got a message from Caleb Williams saying, “Hey, I'm not going to punt much here.''
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) April 27, 2024
Even if Williams' confident declaration is true, having a good punter is an asset. The Bears paid money to get a punter, but at least they know what they're getting.
