RIVER FALLS, WIS. ? A 285-pound body packed on his 6-foot-2 frame is not Casey Wiegmann’s greatest football asset.

A quick brain and a natural aptitude for the intricacies of the game are what set Kansas City’s cerebral center apart.

A major part of Wiegmann’s job is to size up the defensive formations each time he comes to the line of scrimmage. He anticipates what the tacklers are up to, calculates the best way to block them and barks out instructions to his guards and tackles.

He does all this while tens of thousands of people holler and scream, and 300-pound defenders get set to crash into him.

“Without him making the right calls, especially in pass protection, an offense just can’t function,” coach Dick Vermeil said.

“Defenses are so complex and change so much. Boy, make one mistake and it can kill you. And Casey doesn’t make mistakes.”

Using his brains as well as his heft, Wiegmann anchored one of the finest offensive lines in the NFL in 2002. It enabled running back Priest Holmes to become the league’s offensive MVP and sent right guard Will Shields and left tackle Willie Roaf to their eighth Pro Bowl apiece.

“For some reason, football comes natural to me,” Wiegmann said. “Picking up on offenses, learning calls. It’s the little things — learning reads, learning the defensive linemen’s stance — little things you can pick up.

“I don’t know why, but it just comes into my head easy.”

Working with about six different schemes in stops at Indianapolis, New York, Chicago and Kansas City has been an education in itself.

“The more experience I have, the better I am at doing it. It’s probably what I do best,” he said.

But it’s not all he does well.

The Chiefs feel their second-year center performed at a Pro Bowl level last year while the offense led the NFL with 467 points and rolled up a team-record 6,000 total yards.

Kansas City center Casey Wiegmann participates in drills during practice. Wiegmann, who was working out Monday in River Falls, Wis., is expected to anchor the Chiefs' offensive line this season.

He’s particularly adept at getting out on draws and screens — two favorite plays Holmes has employed in leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage each of the past two years.

“You have to be extremely bright, which he is, and extremely versatile, which he also is,” offensive coordinator Al Saunders said.

“He played as well as any Pro Bowl player who went to Hawaii. He was magnificent. He’s a really important part of what we do.”

Nevertheless, precious few people aside from insiders appreciate just how expertly Wiegmann handles both the physical and mental challenges of his job.

One reason for that is the nature of what he does. Even if they could hear his calls, probably not one fan in 1,000 would be discerning enough to understand.

Plus, he labors at a position where anonymity almost always rules.

And on top of all that, he’s simply not the sort of flamboyant 300-pounder most people bring to mind when ticking off the top-flight linemen.

Does that bug him? Maybe a little.

“Recognition would be nice,” he said. “But that’s not my main objective. I want to lead the No. 1 offense in the league into the Super Bowl. I’ve always been a team player and that’s all I really care about.”

Still, another great year coupled with a Kansas City playoff breakthrough could finally shine the spotlight on this stoic Iowan who slipped quietly into the league seven years ago as an undrafted free agent.

“If we get in the playoffs and get going and he has another year like he did last year, then someone’s going to have to get the credit besides Will Shields and Willie Roaf in there,” Vermeil said.

His appreciative coaches would love to see the world sit up and take notice.

“Casey is very, very unselfish,” Saunders said. “But he deserves to have the recognition that the premier offensive linemen in the league have because he’s playing at that level.”