Christian Kirksey

Representatives and scouts from 28 NFL teams attended as he performed all of the combine and positional drills and was able to increase his vertical by four inches (36"). Kirksey's unofficial time in the 40-yard dash would've garnered him third among his position group at the combine. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Kirksey was projected to be a fourth or fifth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 13th best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Christian Paul Kirksey (born August 31, 1992) is a former American football linebacker.

He placed ninth in the triple jump at the 2009 MSHSAA State T&F Championships, with a leap of 44 ft 1 in.

At the 2010 Suburban North Conference Championship, he placed fourth in the long jump (20 ft 12 in) and took bronze in the triple jump (45 ft 6 in).

Kirksey was considered a three-star recruit by the Rivals.com recruiting network.

Kirksey enrolled at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes football team from 2010 to 2013.

As a true freshman in 2010, he played in 10 games, primarily on special teams, recording six total tackles.

In 2011, he started all 13 games for the Hawkeyes, recording 62 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, three pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.

As a junior in 2012, he was named a team captain.

He started all 12 games, recording 95 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.

He also returned two interceptions for touchdowns (one 68 yards vs. Minnesota and one 18 yards against Indiana), had four recovered fumbles, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble.

In 2013, as a senior and team captain, he started all 13 games at outside linebacker, finishing third on team with 104 tackles.

He also had five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, two recovered fumbles and two forced fumbles, one interception and one pass break-up.

He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference following the season.

On December 30, 2013, it was announced that Kirksey had accepted his invitation to appear in the 2014 Senior Bowl.

Throughout the week, leading up to the game, Kirksey impressed scouts and team representatives during practice by displaying his athleticism, explosiveness, and ability to finish plays.

He played college football at Iowa and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft.

He was also a member of the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills.

Kirksey attended Hazelwood East High School in Hazelwood, Missouri, where he played on the football team and was coached by Mike Jones.

He was first-team all-conference as a senior after earning honorable mention recognition as a junior.

He recorded 163 tackles as a senior, with nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

He helped his team win the state championship in his junior season and returned to playoffs the following year.

In addition to football, Kirksey participated in track & field at Hazelwood East, where he competed in relays and jumping events, helping his team win the state championship as a junior.

On January 25, 2014, he participated at the Senior Bowl and recorded six combined tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss during the North's 20–10 loss to the South.

He had an impressive performance playing for former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith's North team.

He was one of 35 collegiate linebackers to receive an invitation to attend the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Kirksey attended the NFL combine, but opted to forgo the majority of combine drills and only perform the vertical jump, broad jump, and bench press.

On March 24, 2014, Kirksey participated at Iowa's pro day, along with C. J. Fiedorowicz, Anthony Hitchens, James Morris, and nine other prospects.

The Cleveland Browns selected Kirksey in the third round (71st overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.

He was the ninth linebacker selected in 2014.

On June 5, 2014, the Browns signed Kirksey to a four-year, $3.04 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $662,500.

Throughout training camp, Kirksey competed against Craig Robertson for the job as the starting right inside linebacker.

Head coach Mike Pettine named him the backup right inside linebacker to Robertson to begin the regular season.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Browns' season-opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers and recorded one solo tackle and made his first career sack on Ben Roethlisberger during their 30–27 loss.

The following week, he earned the first start of his career against the New Orleans Saints, after starting right outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo was unable to play due to a shoulder injury.

He went on to finish the game with four combined tackles as the Browns won 26–24.

On October 19, 2014, Kirksey recorded a season-high nine combined tackles as the Browns lost 24–6 at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kirksey started over Robertson during a Week 11 matchup against the Houston Texans and tied his season-high of nine combined tackles in Cleveland's 23–7 loss.

His 16 reps tied for 23rd out of the 25 linebackers who participated and he finished 21st out of 30 linebackers in the vertical.

Kirksey's best performance at the combine was in the broad jump where he tied for fifth out of 30 players in his position.