Grading the Chicago Bears' selections in the 2024 NFL Draft

Round 4, #122 Overall: Tory Taylor, P, Iowa -- B-

With what many thought would be the Chicago Bears' final pick of the draft, Poles decided to go to special teams. He selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor. This was likely the most controversial selection made the entire weekend.

The Bears have a big need at defensive end. Yes, Poles invested a lot in Williams. However, he also invested a lot in defensive end Montez Sweat. To be more specific, he invested $98 million in Sweat. Poles has to get him help.

We saw in the 2023 regular season finale how the Green Bay Packers completely disrespected whoever was playing on the other side of Sweat. They sent a wave of bodies at Sweat to neutralize him. Without anyone else to put pressure on the quarterback, Jordan Love carved up Chicago's secondary.

Despite that, Poles decided to go with Taylor. Don't get it wrong, though, Taylor could be a generational talent at punter. He has a booming leg and great accuracy. He averaged 48.2 yards per punt in 2023. That was the highest average in NCAA history. His 46.3 career average is the highest for a career. Moreover, he had the most punt yards in a single season with 4,479 yards. The only reason it was not higher was because he was punting a lot around mid-field.

Field position is very important in a game. Taylor can flip the field for the Bears. He can take it from the 20 or 30 and get it inside the opponent's 20. Also, he has great hangtime on his punts. Of his 93 punts in 2023, he had 29 fair catches. These are areas where current starting punter Trenton Gill has struggled in his two seasons.

While Taylor is a great punter Poles cold have waited longer and still gotten him. That was especially highlighted when we saw what Poles did later in the draft. It looks like Poles will try to find a veteran edge rusher to help Sweat.