Bears punter Tory Taylor dubbed one of the biggest reaches in 2024 NFL draft

The Chicago Bears came out winners from the 2024 NFL draft, where they welcomed an elite quarterback-wide receiver duo in Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze with their top-10 selections.

But outside of their slam-dunk first round, the Bears managed to find some other sneaky contributors, including Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round.

But not everyone loves the Tory selection. Drafting a punter in the fourth round? Blasphemy. In fact, CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani and Chris Trapasso believe Taylor was one of the biggest reaches in the NFL draft.

“Far and away the best punter in this class. Huge leg he showcased over multiple seasons and plenty of experience. Inside the 20 he’s money, too. But is this the best allocation of one of Chicago’s four picks in this draft? No.”

It’s understandable to see people react to Chicago selecting a punter in a draft where they had just four selections (to start). But Poles called Taylor “one of the best punters I’ve ever seen,” and the organization believes he’ll be a weapon for a team that’s already loaded on offense and defense.

Punters are people, too. Especially punters like Taylor who can change the game with how he can flip the field. That’s why the Bears made the move to land Tory, who could be a generational punter.

Even though Williams told Taylor he wouldn’t be punting much, there will be times when Chicago will be relying on Taylor in a situation that might just help change the game.