Shaq Barrett is just as shocked by his incredible start as you are

NFC Defensive Player of the Month acknowledges he's playing at a ridiculous level even he couldn't have expected.

There's making the most of an opportunity, and then there's Shaq Barrett.

After bagging nine sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception over the first four weeks of the 2019 regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month earlier this week. 

Not bad for a guy getting his first chance as full-time starter since entering the league in 2014.

An undrafted free agent out of Colorado State, Barrett signed with the Denver Broncos and spent all but one week of his rookie season on the practice squad. The following season, he flashed his potential with 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Still, he was never more than a rotational player in Denver, making just 15 starts over his five seasons with the Broncos.

But all along, Barrett was sharpening his skill set by learning from two of the league's best veteran pass rushers, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, and going up against the team's starting offensive tackles in practice.

This offseason, Barrett signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Bucs worth $4 million. While he's always been confident he could be productive in the NFL, his results over the first four weeks of the 2019 season have shocked even himself.

"This level is ridiculous," Barrett said about how he's playing right now. "It's blowing my mind, as well. I always knew I could play in the league and I could produce, but at the rate it's going right now, it's looking really good."

Barrett knows it takes a team effort in many ways to make this kind of performance happen, and he's thankful that all the stars have aligned to allow him to make such a significant impact.

"I'm very appreciative of my agent, he did a good job," Barrett said of the situation he found in Tampa Bay. "I'm doing a good job coming in here playing. It's just working out perfectly for everybody. For the team, for me, it's just like a match made in heaven right now."

Thankfully for Barrett, that one-year deal also came with some lofty incentives that he's already hitting. He earned a $250,000 bonus by hitting eight sacks for the season, and he'll earn another $250,000 when he gets his next sack to give him 10 for the year. 

While it's unlikely Barrett will keep up his current pace and end up with 36 sacks in 2019, he's already past the halfway mark of breaking the Bucs' single-season record of 16.5, set in 2000 by Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.

No matter what the final numbers ends up being, you can bet Barrett will be making way more than $4 million per year on the next contract he signs.