5 Best Cleveland Browns third round draft picks since 1999
2. Christian Kirksey, LB
Yet another Brown who is still on the team although it is unclear for how much longer. That doesn’t change what Christian Kirksey has done for the Cleveland defense since being drafted with the 71st overall pick in 2014.
He has played in 73 games starting 54 of those since becoming taking over the position. He didn’t miss a game his first four seasons and made several starts before he had his best season when he started all 16 games in 2016.
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As a rookie, he started eight games recording 81 tackles and two sacks. One might think that would earn him more playing time but he only started five games the next year in 2015.
He led the team with 148 tackles including 11 tackles for loss and two and a half sacks. He followed that up with 138 tackles the next season which led the team again.
That is when things got tricky for Kirksey, he sustained season-ending injuries in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, he played seven games recording 43 tackles and two interceptions, the first of his career.
He only made it through two games in 2019 before he was placed on injured reserve. He was replaced by rookie Mack Wilson who showed promise. His rookie season mirrored Kirksey’s in a lot of ways.
Kirksey will always be beloved by Cleveland fans because he signed a four-year extension in 2017 although the team had very little success. He was committed to the team and the city, that counts for something too. So far in his career, he has 484 tackles and 11 and a half sacks.