Bears GM Ryan Poles on taking punter Tory Taylor in fourth round: 'I didn't expect him to get much further'

Caleb Williams' No. 1 overall selection was expected and celebrated.

Rome Odunze being taken at No. 9 was universally lauded.

The Chicago Bears' 2024 NFL Draft class -- small in number as it might well have been -- was going swimmingly until a fourth-round splash that had pundits aplenty scratching their heads. That's when the Bears became the first team to select a specialist, going with Iowa punter Tory Taylor.

Taylor going at No. 122 overall was the earliest a punter has been drafted since the San Francisco 49ers selected Mitch Wishnowsky in 2019 at No. 110, also in the fourth round. Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who was working with just four total picks at the time and ended the three-day festivities with five total selections, didn't see Taylor falling further and believes the booter can be a game-changer for Chicago.

"I didn't expect him to get much further. Definitely didn't think I'd be able to pick him up when we got into the fifth round," Poles said Wednesday when speaking to a former All-Pro punter on The Pat McAfee Show. "And, really, the thought process there is to make anyone we're playing really uncomfortable. I didn't play much in the NFL, but I know running onto the field and having the ball spotted inside the 10-yard line is a very uncomfortable feeling. It's disheartening at times. And I love taking advantage of field position. And, really, that should help us with points, as well."

When Taylor was taken, that was the Bears' last pick of the draft. Poles later traded back for a fifth-round choice that he turned into Kansas edge Austin Booker.

There is no denying Taylor's field-switching prowess.

The Iowa product was a two-time All-American who collected the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter on his