Tory Taylor - Punter, Iowa
Special teams is and will, unfortunately, forever be an underappreciated facet of football, especially when it comes to the punting aspect. Many fans don't understand the importance and impact of being able to flip the field when your offense is stalled and can't seem to get anything going. Even just the matter of 10-20 yards is the difference between a touchdown and a field goal, or a field goal and nothing at all.
After the past two years, Bengals fans should know the importance of having a good punter, as that's something Cincinnati has struggled with as of late. Kevin Huber reached the twilight of his career and was replaced by Drue Chrisman, who struggled mightily to create any sort of hangtime on his punts in 2022. Then, in 2023, Cincy drafted Brad Robbins in the sixth round hoping he was the solution for their punting woes.
He was not.
While not the highest priority this offseason, the Bengals need to fix their punting issue, and Tory Taylor is the answer for that. With Iowa fielding one of the worst offenses in college football, Taylor was relied on a lot to flip the field and help take some of the load off of the Iowa defense, and he delivered. Averaging 46.3 yards per punt, Taylor has the highest average in Big Ten history, and the sixth-highest in NCAA history, at least since 2000.
Iowa punter Tory Taylor in 2023:
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) March 2, 2024
NCAA record 4,479 yards (set in 1938) on 93 punts
Unanimous All-American, Ray Guy winner
40 punts of 50-plus yards, 32 inside the 20
Career average: 46.3 (Big Ten record)
Last punter drafted in 3rd round: 2004
"There's a lot of guys that can hit… pic.twitter.com/btLyxNpAip
Despite all of that, punting will forever be unappreciated and as such, the cannon-legged Hawkeye is projected to be selected on Day 3 of the draft, likely in the sixth or seventh round. If he's there in the sixth, the Bengals shouldn't hesitate to take him.