Kirkpatrick participated in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the 2008 Alabama Mississippi All-Star Football Classic, where he was recorded at 6 ft 2 in and 180 lbs.

[3][4] On February 7, 2009, Kirkpatrick ended months of recruiting, committing to the Alabama Crimson Tide on National Signing Day,[5] as he announced his decision live on ESPNU.

[13] Head coach Marvin Lewis named Kirkpatrick the sixth cornerback on the Bengals' depth chart to begin the season, behind Nate Clements, Leon Hall, Terence Newman, Jason Allen, and Adam Jones.

[15][16] Kirkpatrick entered training camp in 2013 and competed for the starting cornerback role with Terence Newman, Leon Hall, and Adam "Pacman" Jones.

[18] On December 1, 2013, Kirkpatrick made his first career interception after he picked off a pass attempt by San Diego Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers during a 14–10 victory.

On December 15, 2013, he made his first career start in place of Terence Newman who was out with an MCL injury and finished the 20–30 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with four combined tackles.

On January 5, 2014, Kirkpatrick started his first career playoff games and made two solo tackles during the Bengals' 10–27 AFC Wildcard loss to the San Diego Chargers.

[16] Throughout the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp in 2014, Kirkpatrick competed for the job as the starting cornerback against Adam Jones, Terence Newman, Leon Hall, and rookie Darqueze Dennard.

On January 4, 2015, Kirkpatrick started in the AFC Wildcard game against the Indianapolis Colts and made four combined tackles and defended a pass during their 10–26 loss.

[16] On April 28, 2015, the Cincinnati Bengals opted to exercise the fifth-year option on Kirkpatrick's rookie contract, paying him a salary of $7.5 million in 2016.

[11] Kirkpatrick entered Cincinnati Bengals' training camp and competed against Adam Jones, Leon Hall, Darquese Dennard, and Josh Shaw for the vacant starting cornerback job left by the departure of Terence Newman.

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Kirkpatrick the starting cornerback, along with Adam "Pacman" Jones, to begin the 2015 season.

[15] Kirkpatrick began the season as the starting cornerback with Adam Jones after winning the job over Darqueze Dennard and William Jackson III.

[11][26] Kirkpatrick was named the starting cornerback, along with Adam "Pacman" Jones, for his second consecutive season after beating out Darqueze Dennard, Josh Shaw, and William Jackson III.

[27] On October 29, 2017, Kirkpatrick recorded three solo tackles, defended a pass, and sacked Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Jacoby Brissett in a 24–23 victory.

[16] In Week 11, Kirkpatrick intercepted Denver's Brock Osweiler in the end zone and returned it 101 yards, before mishandling and fumbling the ball and recovering it at the one-yard line.