Ryan Poles Makes Terrific Case For Why Bears Drafted Tory Taylor
The Chicago Bears hatched a surprise on day three of the 2024 draft. Everybody in Detroit and at home expected GM Ryan Poles to address the last glaring issue on his roster with his 4th round pick: a pass rusher. However, the Bears pulled a shocking twist when they selected Iowa punter Tory Taylor instead. Unsurprisingly, there was a ton of derision from fans and experts. Many remain disgusted by the idea of taking a punter or any specialist in the draft, let alone that high. Teams can routinely find good ones in undrafted free agency. There was no point in that move.
Poles disagrees. He went on the Pat McAfee Show to discuss the Bears’ draft. McAfee himself is a former punter, so he was excited to talk about Taylor. When asked about it, Poles’ thought process was simple. He felt Chicago’s punt game was inadequate last season. His goal is to do everything in his power to make the opposing team uncomfortable. Often the best way to do that is by pinning them inside their own 10-yard line, something Taylor was great at doing for Iowa.
Besides, if the Bears hadn’t taken the punter when they did, Poles feels he would’ve been long gone by the 5th round.
Ryan Poles understands the basic facts of football.
Nobody cares about the punter until you need a good one. Trenton Gill has not been that. After an average rookie season in 2022, he actually took a step back in 2023. His net average went from 39 to 38, and he had only 18 kicks downed inside the 20-yard line. Taylor had 162 downed inside the 20 between 2021 and 2022 alone. His 48.2 yards per punt were two full yards longer than Gill’s. If you want to go strictly by the numbers, Taylor is a significant upgrade over Gill. He becomes an immediate weapon for the Bears.
Ryan Poles feels no need to apologize for upgrading his roster. People won’t care about that 4th round pick the first time Taylor booms a 70-yard bomb or drops one inside the five-yard line. Those types of moments can swing games. Don’t believe it? The Bears’ average starting field position in losing efforts last season was the 27-yard line. In games they won, it was the 33-yard line. Don’t let anybody ever tell you field position doesn’t matter, and punters affect it more than almost any other player on a team.