The Patriots haven’t provided many moments of optimism this season as injuries and ineptitude on offense have led the team to a 4-11 record through 16 weeks.

But the play of third-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore has been a revelation.

The 2021 second-round pick is fresh off of his best performance as a pro, when he sacked Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson three times in Sunday night’s 26-23 win, which saw him general two additional pressures, a forced fumble and five total defensive stops.

“He’s had a good year,” head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday morning on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “He’s an explosive player, long. He’s got good power. He’s got good initial quickness. A couple of those rushes, he won immediately at the line of scrimmage and uses his power there.”

Barmore stacks among the NFL’s best interior defenders this season. He’s eighth in overall defensive grade on PFF, sixth in pass-rush grade, 13th in total pressures, fifth in sacks, second in batted passes and 10th in defensive stops. He’s been arguably the Patriots’ best healthy player this season.

“It’s really hard to sack Wilson,” Belichick continued. “He’s a pretty elusive guy. So, being able to finish on the quarterback was really, really good. Christian’s done a good job of that. Not just getting by the blocker. It’s actually getting the quarterback, especially a guy like him or last week (Patrick) Mahomes or this week Josh Allen. Those guys — even if you get free, they’re still hard to get. He’s done a good job on that.”

Linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday during a video conference call that he’s seen a more mature Barmore in the third year of his career.

“He works hard. He’s doing the extra stuff,” Mayo said. “He’s doing the little things and that’s starting to show up and pay divideds. He definitely has a bright future, and hopefully he can keep it rolling.”

Defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington echoed those sentiments.

“Every year he’s been better, growing on the field, off the field. I’m proud of the way he’s worked,” Covington said. “Consistency, for him, and that’s what he’s been doing. He’s been doing a good job, and it started this offseason with him working, rehabbing and doing a lot of things to get his body right, in the classroom and really taking those things and taking it to the grass.”

Barmore is eligible for a contract extension after the season. He’s the type of cornerstone player the Patriots should be building around.