Bears select Iowa punter Tory Taylor with 4th-round pick

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — The Bears on Saturday prioritized special teams in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by selecting Iowa punter Tory Taylor at No. 122 overall.

Taylor averaged 48.2 yards per punt last season, when he also set a new single-season NCAA record with 4,479 punting yards. He won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter.

Shortly after Taylor was selected, he received a text message from new Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

"'Hey, you're not going to be punting much here,'" Taylor shared of Williams' text.

The expectation is that Taylor will immediately become the Bears' punter, a role that had been held by Trenton Gill for the past two seasons. Gill was a seventh-round pick in 2022.

Earlier in this NFL Draft, Chicago selected Williams and Washington receiver Rome Odunze in the first round and then Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third round.

 Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .