The Cleveland Browns released sixth-year pro Christian Kirksey earlier this month. The Green Bay Packers quickly swooped in and signed the 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker to a two-year deal worth $16 million.

Kirksey played in just two games in 2019 due to a torn pectoral tendon that required surgery so the Browns team captain certainly went a bit under the radar in 2019. However, when healthy, Kirksey can be an absolute difference maker and could give Green Bay yet another defensive playmaker.

The Packers defense made a major leap under first-year head coach Matt LaFleur ranking ninth in the NFL in scoring defense but just 18th in yards allowed per game.

First things first, Kirksey is a tackling machine. In his last two healthy seasons (2016 and 2017), the former Iowa Hawkeye recorded a combined 286 total tackles and 17 tackles for a loss. Now, Kirksey might be lining up alongside fellow tackling machine and free-agent linebacker Blake Martinez which should improve Green Bay's below-average run defense.

Additionally, Kirksey will be reuniting with Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine who served as the head coach for the Browns in 2014 and 2015.

The Packers have had a lot of good luck on signing defensive free agents in recent years (Za'Darius Smith, Adrian Amos and Preston Smith) and if he can stay healthy, Kirksey will be no different.

Elite pursuit skills, impressive instincts and a strong burst coupled with an ever-improving supporting cast and a familiar defensive coordinator should give Kirksey the opportunity to be one of the biggest steals of the 2020 free-agent class.

Expect another solid year from the Green Bay defense and should health permit, another 100-plus tackle year from the team's newest addition.

A linebacker group of Kirksey, Martinez and both Smiths should give the Packers one of the best groups in the country. Alongside Kenny Smith and in the middle and Jaire Alexander and Kevin King on the outside and it should give Cheese heads a lot of hope for the future.

Of course, Kirksey has only played in nine games in the past two seasons so that's an obvious concern but a relatively cheap two-year deal is well worth the risk when you consider the massive reward that Kirksey can provide.

Also, Kirksey's signing could mean the end of Martinez's time in Green Bay but Kirksey is a suitable (and cheaper) replacement and the Packers have more than enough talent in the front seven to minimize the loss of someone like Martinez.