ENGLEWOOD – Shaquil Barrett is set to make his first NFL start on the league’s top-ranked defense because star pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware is expected to miss Denver’s game Sunday at Cleveland with a bad back.
His teammates anticipate no drop-off.
“With the limited snaps that Shaq’s got, he has two sacks. And I got three,” Von Miller said. “So, he’s right there with the bunch. He’s making a lot of plays for us in the preseason and during the season. When I come out there’s really not a drop in performance. Shaq, he’s a good fill-in for us.”
Barrett is a second-year pro who went undrafted out of Colorado State last year and spent the 2014 season on the Broncos’ practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster twice but never got into a game.
Over the offseason he cut out sodas and worked out more than he dined out. He dropped from 254 pounds to 242 and trimmed his body fat from 18 percent to 11.
The results have been amazing.
He has a pair of sacks, three quarterback hurries and eight tackles to go with a team-best five stops and a forced fumble on special teams.
“He just continues to take advantage of every opportunity that he’s gotten,” head coach Gary Kubiak said Thursday.
Barrett has teamed with first-round pick Shane Ray to give Ware and Miller frequent breathers and bring a second wave of pressure for quarterbacks.
The Broncos have 22 sacks and 14 takeaways.
When Ware was knocked out of last week’s game at Oakland with a strained back, Barrett logged a career-high 38 snaps from scrimmage, recording four tackles and one of Denver’s four sacks of Derek Carr.
“I didn’t envision it. I thought I’d be able to be a real good special teams player this year and be able to contribute that way,” he said. “But defensive-wise, I didn’t think I’d be able to get as many snaps as I’ve been getting.”
He has taken 97 snaps, or 29.8 percent, of Denver’s defensive snaps.
That experience will come in handy if Ware is sidelined on Sunday.
“Just being out there earlier in those five games helped me get the butterflies out of my stomach,” Barrett said. “I know I can play in this league now.”
