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CHI Chicago Bears · P· #19

Tory Taylor

Age
29
Height
6'4"
Weight
225 lbs
College
Iowa
Drafted
2024, No. 122 overall (CHI)
Experience
3rd NFL season
Compare with another playerPunters leaderboard

55

Overall grade

10th of 33 punters

Above typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Tory grades about average among punters so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. EPA per punt is +0.04 over the last 2 games (4 punts), against +0.76 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the punters in the league.

  • EPA per punt+0.492nd of 33small sample
  • Net yards per punt44.0 yds8th of 33small sample
  • Punts inside the 2036%20th of 33small sample
  • Touchbacks9%22nd of 33small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying punters. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among punters after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 100th percentileWeek 3: 100th percentileWeek 5: 97th percentile97th

Season rank holding near the 97th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per punt game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamepuntsSeason rank after
1vs CAR+2.252–
2vs MIN+0.344100th pct
3vs PHI−0.591100th pct
5vs GB+0.04497th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 punts can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every punter with at least 8 punts. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per punt

Elite

+0.49

2nd of 33 punters · top 7%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From the punting team's side: a punt that pins the offense deep adds points, a short punt gives them up.

The box score: Punting average ignores the return, the touchback and where the punt was kicked from.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, a good or bad game on EPA per punt from a punter has not lined up much with his team winning (35% wins in the best third, 30% in the worst).

Last 2 games: +0.04 (4) vs +0.76 before−30.2grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely +0.04 to +0.95

Net yards per punt

Well above typical

44.0 yds

8th of 33 punters · top 25%

Punt distance minus the return, with 20 yards taken off for a touchback.

The box score: Gross average counts yards the returner takes back.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 35% of the time when their punter was in the best third on net yards per punt, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 46.3 yds (4) vs 42.7 yds before+8.4grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely 38.8 yds to 49.2 yds

Punts inside the 20

Typical

36%

20th of 33 punters · bottom 43%

The share of his punts that land inside the 20-yard line.

The box score: Counted, but not against how many punts were close enough to try.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 56% of the time when their punter was in the best third on punts inside the 20, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 25% (4) vs 43% before−8.8grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely 12% to 60%

Touchbacks

Below typical

9%lower is better

22nd of 33 punters · bottom 37%

The share of his punts that are touchbacks, which waste the distance. Fewer is better.

The box score: Counted, but not against attempts.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 44% of the time when their punter was in the best third on touchbacks, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 0% (4) vs 14% before+16.5grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely -9% to 27%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the punters around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Gross punt average

Style

50.8 yds

Kicks longer, and more so than almost any of the punters. A typical one is 47.9 yds.

Average punt distance before the return. It is the box score number, shown beside net yards for comparison.

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts

Fair catches

Style

18%

Lets returners run, and more so than almost any of the punters. A typical one is 33%.

The share of his punts that are fair caught, a sign of directional kicking and hang time.

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Tory Taylor game by game
GameResultPuntsIn 20EPA/puntNet ydsInside 20Touchbacks
Wk 1 vs CARW 59–3720+2.2542.5 yds0%0%
Wk 2 vs MINL 3–943+0.3446.0 yds75%0%
Wk 3 vs PHIW 27–710−0.5930.0 yds0%100%
Wk 5 vs GBL 7–3141+0.0446.3 yds25%0%

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among punters. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Tory Taylor box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts1128th of 33
Punts inside the 20431st of 33

Players with a similar profile

The punters whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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