Iowa alum Tory Taylor achieves early NFL success while remaining his ‘authentic self’

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Tory Taylor could not hide his excitement as he clenched his arms in celebration while jogging after a punt.

It was in the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bears’ Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Rams, and Taylor had just launched a punt 66 yards from the Bears’ own 26-yard line to the Rams’ own 8-yard line.

It was at a critical moment, too, as the Bears were hanging onto a six-point lead with roughly six minutes remaining in the eventual, 24-18, win. It made for a moment in which his longsnapper Scott Daly said it would be “hard not to get excited.”

“It’s kind of like his ‘welcome to the NFL moment’ in that sense, in the best of ways,” Daly said. “He really took over that game for us and really helped us solidify that win.”

A couple months later on a dreary December morning in Lake Forest, Ill., and the “pretty sweet” moment still can put a smile on Taylor’s face.

“I really felt like I’d helped the team progress toward a win, which is special for all of our specialists as well,” the Iowa alum said at his locker in the Bears’ Halas Hall.

That has been far from Taylor’s only special moment, however, as the rookie from Iowa has elevated his game beyond even the level he achieved en route to winning the 2023 Ray Guy Award.

Taylor has averaged 48.3 yards per punt this season, putting him on track to possibly break the Bears’ 75-year-old franchise record. George Gulyanics set the record in 1949 when he averaged 47.2 yards per punt.

“Still two games to go, though,” Taylor said from his locker in the midsection of the Halas Hall locker room, which is perhaps unintentionally symbolic of his central role on the Bears this year. “So worry about that at the end of the season. Hopefully it happens.”

Taylor has landed 27 punts inside the 20-yard line and only three touchbacks. In fact, his last touchback was more than a month ago during the Bears’ Nov. 10 loss to the Patriots.

“I know rookie year for everyone — you’re just trying to stay afloat, you’re trying to survive,” Daly said from the adjacent locker. “But I think he’s been doing a really good job of handling everything, learning, growing, figuring out who he is as a punter and as a person and as a pro athlete.”

Taylor’s rookie results are especially notable considering half of his games are at Soldier Field, which can get challenging winds off Lake Michigan.

“To punt here is extremely difficult with the conditions and the weather,” Daly told The Gazette. “For him to be able to play the way that he has, especially as a rookie, has been really impressive.”

Not entirely unlike his four years at Iowa, Taylor has had no shortage of punting opportunities. His 69 attempts this year are tied for third-most in the NFL, trailing only the Browns’ Corey Bojorquez and the Broncos’ Riley Dixon.

“He is punting more than he was told he was going to punt there, which is interesting to see,” Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods said to a chorus of laughter from reporters in a November news conference.

(Taylor infamously told Chicago media shortly after getting drafted that new quarterback Caleb Williams “just texted me before saying, ‘Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here.’“)

‘Absolutely’ worth the Bears’ fourth-round pick

When the Bears selected Taylor with the 122nd overall pick in the 2024 draft, he was the highest-picked punter since the 49ers took Mitch Wishnowsky with the 110th overall pick in 2019. Before that, one would have to go back to 2012, when Bryan Anger was a third-round selection.

“When it’s all said and done, I want (Richard) Hightower and (Ryan) Poles to look like geniuses for drafting me,” Taylor said, referencing the Bears’ special teams coordinator and general manager. “We’ve had some ups and downs this season, but I feel like I’ve progressed as well these last few games.”

Taylor’s 48.3 yards per punt is ahead of Wishnowsky’s 44.9 yards per punt as a rookie in 2019 and Anger’s 47.8 yards per punt as a rookie in 2012.

The rookie is tied for 13th in the NFL for average yards per punt (among those with at least 25 attempts), and several of the punters with better average yardage also have substantially more touchbacks than him.

“Has he done what he is supposed to do to justify that fourth-round draft status? Absolutely, he has,” Hightower said during Week 3. “We still have a long way to go, but he has done a really nice job.”

Embracing life as an NFL player

Taylor, who turned 27 before the start of the 2024 preseason, has embraced his football-focused lifestyle as an NFL player.

“I think the NFL is probably more suited to me and I guess my playing style and personality,” Taylor said. “So I’ve really enjoyed it probably a little bit more.”

The transition from the college level to the NFL has it’s obvious differences — “everyone’s f------ good,” Taylor said — along with some more subtle ones on and off the field. That includes being at a place where the punter is not necessarily a celebrity.

Raygun’s “Punting is Winning” shirts with Taylor’s name and number on the back were immensely popular in Iowa City, and he was quickly recognized in public places like a Hy-Vee or a restaurant.

“Not so much here,” Taylor said.

He does not seem to mind having the lower profile in the Chicago area as he makes his trips to Whole Foods Market.

“It’s perfect for me,” he said, later noting he hopes there are “a few 19 jerseys out there.”

Taylor has adjusted to life in the NFL all while having a “main goal” of being “my authentic self whether we're winning or losing,” as he described it in a preseason article on the team website.

“The most important thing is just for me to be myself,” Taylor said this week. “Because I know when I'm myself, good things happen.“

Hawkeye roots remain

As Taylor works 200-plus miles to the east of his college home, the now-NFL punter has not been a stranger to Iowa. He attended Iowa’s season-opening win over Illinois State and almost went to another game.

“I was going to go to the Iowa-Nebraska game the day after Thanksgiving because we had a few days off, but no, it was too cold,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t going to stand there in — what was it, it was probably like five, 10 degrees? — yeah, no thanks.”

He recently saw Iowa associate head coach Seth Wallace, who made the trip to Chicago for the Bears-Lions game, and continues to stay in touch with Woods (who has treated him like family since his arrival at Iowa in 2020).

“I’ll do anything to be in the first special teams meeting with (LeVar’s son Mason) in there,” Taylor said with a smile. “I just know Coach Woods is going to rip his ass. … I’m sure I’ll hear a few stories.”

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Punting is not winning (yet) for Chicago

After being a part of Iowa teams that had a combined 11 regular-season losses during his four years, Taylor is on a Bears team that already has 11 losses this year with another two weeks to go.

Had Taylor’s rookie results been on a team that has not faced such misfortune, the rookie from Australia via Iowa may have gotten more acclaim.

For as much hype as Taylor’s performance against the Rams — five punts with 55.4 yards per attempt — he had other impressive showings that seemed to be overshadowed by unflattering team results.

That includes pinning five of his seven punts against Washington inside the 20 and averaging more than 50 yards per attempt in losses to Arizona, Detroit and San Francisco.

“I remember standing up here talking about the game that he had at Washington being better than the LA Rams game in which he won special teams player of the week,” Hightower said earlier this season. “I feel like the way he punted last week in San Francisco was better than the Washington game.”

That could lead to a few more Rams-esque reasons to celebrate in the future.

“He’s growing, he’s doing a phenomenal job and he is not satisfied,” Hightower said during Week 15. “He is hungry, and he wants to do more.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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