Mel Kiper: Tory Taylor was 'key pick' for the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears walked away as one of the bigger winners of the 2024 NFL Draft. Still, while their two Top-10 picks were clear victories, Mel Kiper Jr. says the success of the five-man class will come down to their selections in the later rounds, including Iowa P Tory Taylor.

Kiper gave the Bears a grade of a B during an episode of ‘First Draft’ on Monday with Field Yates. He said that’s already as high as it is because of the pair of obvious picks that Chicago made in the opening portion of the first round.

“I think that the first two picks were gimmes. I mean anybody could have made those picks,” Kiper said. “You could have been a hockey analyst and never watched an NFL game or whatever, a boxing analyst and you would have picked Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. I mean they were hand-delivered.”

That’s why Kiper turned his attention to their other three picks, specifically at Taylor at one point. Their selection of him in the fourth round at No. 122 overall could end up being better in the future if he can bring the same impact to the league that he had on special teams in college.

“I think, when you look, the key picks are the fourth round, taking Tory Taylor – punter from Iowa,” said Kiper. “We know he’s got a great leg. We know he was a critical entity for Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes. He can flip field position. That’s a critical thing in the NFL. So I think, when you look at Tory Taylor, he’s going to determine a lot.”

Taylor, from Melbourne, Austrailia, spent four years punting for Iowa. In that time, he punted 295 balls for 13,567 yards for an average of 46.3 yards per punt. That led him to earning All-American honors as well as those in the Big Ten.

His senior season, though, is what truly proved his effect on a game. He punted 93 times for the Hawkeyes for 4,479 yards at 48.2 per attempt. Those led him to break records both in the program as well as in the history of the NCAA. It also won him the Ray Guy Award, which is for the nation’s top punter, and made him a Consensus All-American.

Many will obviously remember this draft for Chicago because of their first two picks in Williams and Odunze. Still, for Kiper, how their other three picks, specifically Taylor in the fourth and Kansas’ Austin Booker in the fifth, develop will determine how those truly think back on it.

“I think (Taylor and Booker) will determine that,” said Kiper. “Kiran (Amegadjie) is a developmental tackle. They’re set at tackle, he can learn, right. But the fourth and fifth round picks are going to determine the fate of this draft.”