Ray Ventrone, who spent last season on the Patriots practice squad, is in the running to make the 53-man roster this year.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — Sometimes an NFL player is able to overcome the odds even when the deck is stacked against him.

Sometimes an NFL player must manufacture an opportunity even when there doesn’t appear to be one.

Sometimes an NFL player must go above and beyond what is asked of him if he wants to achieve his dream — to make an NFL roster.

Patriots jack-of-all-trades Ray Ventrone knows that, and he put in a lot of hard work in the offseason to try to overcome the odds.

He knows that he is not the most talented player in the NFL, but he works as hard as anyone, and that has gotten him noticed by the Patriots’ coaching staff. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound workhorse, who spent most of his career on the Patriots’ practice squad, has a good chance to make the opening-day 53-man roster.

He makes the hustle plays on special teams. He is a hard-hitting back in the secondary, and last season he did such a good job lining up and running routes on the Patriots’ scout team to prepare the secondary for their upcoming games that he was asked by wide receivers coach Bill O’Brien if he wanted to try playing that position this year, as well.

Ventrone, the ultimate opportunist, welcomed the added duty with open arms.

“I saw it as another opportunity to learn another position, so I’ll have that much more going for me,” Ventrone said. “I think it’s good to be able to play more than one position. There aren’t too many guys that just play one position on our team, and I think the more you can do the better.”

Ventrone said he was “a little bit” surprised when he was initially asked to play wide receiver “because I had played safety for a long time, but it’s a good opportunity for me to get on the field.”

He has made the most of the opportunity at his new position so far. He leads the Patriots in receptions, with eight for 97 yards.

“I’m just trying to put in as much time as I can,” Ventrone said. “I’ve been studying and learning. That’s all I’m trying to do right now. I’m just trying to literally learn each position and try to get better for Thursday.” That’s when the Pats play their final preseason game, against the New York Giants.

New England head coach Bill Belichick has certainly liked what he has seen of Ventrone in all three phases of the game.

“We used Ray last year on the practice squad to run routes for the defense as an offensive receiver and he really did a good job,” Belichick said. “At the end of the year when we had our postseason evaluations, we talked about putting him at receiver and using him there because he had already had a year of defensive meetings.

“I think he has been able to keep up with some extra work with coach [Dom] Capers and coach [Dean] Pees just on keeping up on his assignments on defense for any adjustments or little things that have changed. I think he has had a year of fundamentals and background on that, so he has a decent idea of what is going on with that. Offensively, he has spent the bulk of this year over there and from time to time we flip him back and forth.”

Ventrone doesn’t care where he plays. He just wants to make the team.

“Where do I want to play? Wherever they ask me,” Ventrone said. “Wherever [Belichick] tells me to go, I’ll be there. No preference. It doesn’t matter to me. I enjoy doing everything, and I think that they see that, too.”

Ventrone said that instead of going home to Pittsburgh, he spent the entire offseason at Foxboro working out, trying to get better.

“I was throwing with the quarterbacks all spring and I was meeting with O’Brien, who was teaching me everything,” Ventrone added. “I’m just trying to gain as much knowledge as I can.”

Ventrone said he has improved at the receiver position since last spring, and he has made Belichick a believer.

“I think he can play both receiver and defensive back at a competent level,” Belichick said. “I think he has done a good job as a receiver when he has had the opportunity to play. He is a tough kid, he runs hard, he catches the ball well and he showed up in the kicking game. His versatility is his number-one strength at this point, but when he does play he has been productive in defense, special teams and offense. He is a unique guy.”

roblee@projo.com