Kwiatkoski attended Bethel Park High School where he played wide receiver and safety. He was also named to the 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes preseason Fabulous 22 list. He missed the first two months of his senior season with a back injury. That season, he was selected to play in the Chesapeake Bowl. He was ranked the 32nd on Rivals.com's list of Pennsylvania's post-season top 40 players.
College career
Kwiatkoski then attended West Virginia University where he majored in multidisciplinary studies. As a freshman in 2011 he redshirted. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he appeared in 12 games, starting one. He recorded 28 tackles and three pass break-ups. In 2013, as a redshirt sophomore, appeared in and started 10 games at the "Will" linebacker position. He recorded a team-leading 86 tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and tied for second on the team with three interceptions. For the season, he was named Second team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele. He also finished sixth in the Big 12 and 30th in the nation in solo tackles with 54. IN addition, ranked fifth in the conference in total tackles. In 2014 as a redshirt junior, Kwiatkoski started all 13 games. He led the team with 103 tackles while simultaneously leading with 71 solo tackles. In addition, he was the team leader in tackles-for-loss with 11.5. He also recorded an assisted sack and four pass-breakups. For the season, he ranked fifth in the Big 12 in solo tackles, tied for ninth in the Big 12 in total tackles and for 12th in the conference in tackles-for-loss. As a redshirt senior in 2015, he appeared in all 13 games. He recorded 86 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, three interceptions and one forced fumble.
Career statistics
Professional career
On December 1, 2015, it was announced that Kwiatkoski had accepted his invitation to play in the 2016 Senior Bowl. On January 30, 2016, Kwiatkoski recorded three combined tackles as part of Dallas Cowboys'head coachJason Garrett 's North team that lost 27–16 to the South. Kwiatkoski attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. On April 1, 2016, Kwiatkoski participated at West Virginia's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. Kwiatkoski attended a single pre-draft visit with the Philadelphia Eagles. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Kwiatkoski was projected to be a fourth or fifth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 14th best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected Kwiatkoski in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft; to draft him, the Bears traded their fourth and sixth round picks to the Los Angeles Rams in order to move up. He was the 15th linebacker drafted in 2016. On May 9, 2016, the Bears signed Kwiatkoski to a four-year, $2.91 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $575,120. Kwiatkoski started seven games during his rookie year and led the team in tackles in two games. The following year, he appeared in eleven games as he recorded 47 tackles and two sacks. He ended the 2017 season as the third-best inside linebacker in run-stop percentage and fourth-best in pass-rush productivity according to Pro Football Focus. He opened 2018 as the starting inside linebacker before rookie Roquan Smith took over the role. In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Kwiatkoski caught a pass from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a two-point conversion play dubbed "Lollipop"; it was Kwiatkoski's first reception since high school. In Week 4 of the 2019 season against the Vikings, he started in place of an injured Smith. In the game, he recorded a team-high ten tackles and sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins once in the 16–6 win. In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, Kwiatkoski recorded a sack and an interception off Jeff Driskel in the 20–13 win.
