Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey will always remember where he was when the Bears drafted Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft—hunched over in the dirt.
The Chicago Bears chairman missed part of the 2024 NFL Draft
Most NFL fans tune in yearly to watch Thursday’s broadcast of the draft’s first round. However, casual fans don’t bother to watch Day 3 and find reading a recap of the draft on Saturday night is a more efficient use of their time. However, NFL owners are expected to be, if not active, at least passive participants during the draft.
According to Courtney Cronin with ESPN, McCaskey missed Day 3 of this year’s draft because he had an umpire gig at a youth league in Sycamore, Illinois. McCaskey has been involved as an official in youth sports since he was in high school.
George McCaskey was busy Judging balls and strikes on Day 3
The athletic director of Sycamore High School, Chauncey Carrick, knew McCaskey would want to know who the Bears were picking Saturday afternoon and helped to keep the chairman abreast on the draft:
“I go, ‘Hey, you guys are drafting in four picks,'” Carrick said. “Want me to stick around and let you know who you get?'”
McCaskey appreciated the help. About an hour later, Carrick returned with an update, which surprised McCaskey, since the Bears entered the draft with only four picks, including two in the first round.
“He goes, ‘Not us, we’re out of picks,'” Carrick said. “I was like, ‘Well, you just traded back in.’ He immediately wanted to know who they got.”
Carrick let McCaskey know his franchise drafted Iowa punter Tory Taylor with pick No. 122 in the fourth round and Kansas defensive end Austin Booker at No. 144, after trading back into the fifth round.
Day 3 of the draft wasn’t the only moment McCaskey was unexpectedly absent this offseason. Unlike general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, McCaskey kept his name off the Bears statement release when it was announced his team would be the feature of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
McCaskey isn’t involved in everything the Bears do
Cronin used the umpire anecdote to further the Bears’ public thesis that McCaskey isn’t “involved in every transaction.” And he isn’t. (Although, some fans might wish he were consulting for less.) However, Poles has said that McCaskey is involved in the draft process and signs off on the bigger moves.
McCaskey might not have known the Bears were drafting a punter for the second time in three years, but he knew Caleb Williams was coming to Chicago well before April 25.
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