The instructions, though, were never quite clear as to where he should be deployed.
Most of his test career to date has been split between fullback and wing and for the first two years, he was plagued by this impetuous streak that drove him to take unnecessary risks.
He wanted to make things happen and the percentage play wasn't in his tool kit. That need to force a pass was mostly attributable to the folly of youth and by last year, with 30-plus caps under his belt, there was a maturity and calm about Barrett.
But some of that need to hurry the game along, to indulge in the unlikely as Barrett often did between 2018 and 2020, was borne of frustration at his sporadic involvement in the contest.
The backfield is a place for those prepared to bide their time. It's territory for the arch poachers: fertile ground for those who are willing to roam, often without reward or recognition, knowing that their tireless positioning and repositioning will inevitably lead to an opportunity to pounce.
Barrett has never hidden the fact that he doesn't love playing the waiting game. His Circadian rhythm is not programmed to such periods of non-involvement and his instinct is to be with and around the ball.
That's why he's always said second-five is his preference. It is the position with which he feels the greatest affinity because it is literally on the frontline.
While the Hurricanes lost against the Crusaders in Wellington, Barrett took another giant step in his quest to be considered an international midfielder.
He was relentless in his desire to carry into the thickest traffic and quality attrition work is invaluable in a No 12.
It's a business lacking in glamour but what makes a world class second-five these days is their ability to eke out three metres in the carry when most would manage only two.
Barrett gave a strong reminder in a brutal contest, that he is a genuinely physical beast.
His is not the 1.8m, 100kg-plus body shape of the typical midfield battering ram, but he makes his longer-leaner frame work as a weapon of mass destruction and he did his bit in draining the Crusaders by forcing them into so many big, high impact tackles.
Ball retention in the collision is another key skill and Barrett, even though he was gang-tackled for 80 minutes never once coughed up possession.
And the final task on which the modern No 12 is judged, is the speed at which they can recycle the ball and Barrett was a high pass mark on that, too.
We know Barrett also has a kicking game, is a strong defender and as someone who has played a test at first-five, presumably he has a grasp on the wider strategic picture.
The evidence is pointing towards Barrett being able to present a case that he's capable of being an international 12.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster told the Herald last week that Barrett's Super Rugby positional switch had piqued his interest, but also suggested that he wasn't necessarily planning to shift him from fullback for the July series against Ireland.
But Foster, rightly, doesn't need to be giving Ireland any insight into his thinking just yet and his comments about Barrett having exactly the sort of skill-set the All Blacks need in their back three, particularly against Northern Hemisphere opposition, were spot on.
They could also be read as code for Foster saying he can't consider shifting Barrett to second-five until he's sure there is someone capable of replacing him at fullback. Someone who can take high balls, kick long and organise their wings.
The irony is that the player best equipped to step in at fullback to enable Barrett to shift is David Havili, who spent last year playing at second-five.
A back three of Havili, Will Jordan and Caleb Clarke, a midfield of Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane, with Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett as playmakers and the All Blacks may have their deadliest backline in years.
