Madden 21 ratings week is behind us, and we've moved on to the new X-Factor and Super Star Abilities in the game.
We've listed leaked X-Factor abilities and their attached players that were released, though these are of course not confirmed.
What is confirmed however is which abilities will be in the game, thanks to the most recent Gridiron Notes (where you can also read over the thoughts behind these decisions).
So let's go over everything we've learned about Madden 21 X-Factor and Superstar Abilities.
Quarterback X-Factor abilities
Pro Reads highlights the first open receiver from the pocket.
- Tom Brady
- Drew Brees
Bazooka adds 15 yards to a players maximum throwing distance, up to 80 yards.
- Patrick Mahomes
Gambler players cannot be intercepted by AI defenders. This is ideal for Franchise Mode.
- Aaron Rodgers
CAN'T STOP ME: Lamar Jackson's combination of abilities are frightning
Truzz this new X-Factor ability means the player cannot fumble when being tackled.
- Lamar Jackson
Blitz Radar highlights all blitzing players outside of defensive linemen.
- Russell Wilson
Running back X-Factor abilities
First One Free increases the fakeout rate of a players next juke, spin, or hurdle.
- Saquon Barkley
- Dalvin Cook
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Freight Train increases the chance to break the next tackle.
- Ezekiel Elliott
- Derrick Henry
Wrecking Ball gives players a high success rate on the next three trucks or stiff-arms.
- Nick Chubb
Ankle Breaker increases fakeout rates on spin, juke, and hurdles after the catch.
- Christian McCaffrey
Wide receiver & tight end X-Factor abilities
Double Me means these players win aggressive catches against single coverage.
- Travis Kelce
- Mike Evans
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Julio Jones
- Davante Adams
- Adam Thielen
RAC 'Em Up means these players win RAC catches against single coverage.
- Stefon Diggs
- Tyreek Hill
PLAYMAKER: The right ability can make all the difference
Max Security means these players have a high success rate on possession catches.
- Keenan Allen
- Amari Cooper
- Michael Thomas
YAC 'Em Up increases the chance to break the first post-catch tackle.
- George Kittle
Defensive X-Factor abilities
Unstoppable Force increases the win rate and block shed speed against one-on-one pass blocks.
- Khalil Mack
- Myles Garrett
- Joey Bosa
- Demarcus Lawrence
- Cameron Jordan
- TJ Watt
- Danielle Hunter
Fearmonger applies significant pressure on QBs even when the X-Factor player is engaged with blockers.
- Fletcher Cox
- Chandler Jones
- Von Miller
Relentless gives players their first rush move attempt for free.
- Nick Bosa
- JJ Watt
Reinforcement gives a higher chance to defeat run blocks and disrupt catches.
- Derwin James
- Harrison Smith
BRING THE PAIN: Defensive stars have abilities to turn the tide
Avalanche ensures downhill hit-sticks force fumbles.
- Bobby Wagner
- Jamal Adams
Blitz means players wipe out opposing blockers resistance bars.
- Aaron Donald
Run Stuffer increases the win rate and block shed speed against one-on-one run blocks.
- Calais Campbell
Momentum Shift knocks all on-field opponents out of the zone, and loses any progression they had toward the zone.
- Chris Jones
Shutdown allows tighter coverage and more frequent interceptions on contested catches.
- Tre'Davious White
- Tyrann Mathieu
- Richard Sherman
- Jaire Alexander
- Stephon Gilmore
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Zone Hawk means more interceptions in zone coverage.
- Devin McCourty
Bottleneck means dominantly winning man press attempts.
- Jalen Ramsey
Unassigned X-Factor abilities
Hi-Lo Deadeye all high and low passes are thrown with perfect accuracy.
Run N Gun has perfet accuracy while throwing on the run.
Brick Wall passers are almost guaranteed to break the first sack attempt by any blitzing defender.
Omaha passers have full vision of the secondary's defensive coverage before the snap.
INCH BY INCH: The right ability can be the difference between winning and losing
Mossed players have greatly increased success rates on aggressive catches of 55+ yards regardless of coverage.
Wrecking Ball running backs have increased success rate on the next three trucks or stiff arms.
Grab And Smash receivers have an increased success chance on stiff arm and truck attempts after the catch.
Vanguard blockers are nearly guaranteed dominant impact block wins.
Selfless players allow all on-field teammates to enter the zone as well.
Universal Coverage defenders are nearly guaranteed knockouts.
Superstar abilities
Brace yourself, there are a LOT of Superstar abilities in Madden 21.
Quarterback Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Fearless | Immune to throw penalties caused by pressure when feet are set in the pocket | Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan |
Hot Route Master | Access to four extra hot routes during pre-play | Tom Brady |
Set Feet Lead | Increased throw power on bullet precision passes made while their feet are set | Tom Brady |
Conductor | Able to make all hot route & blocking adjustments twice as fast | Tom Brady |
Escape Artist | Faster and more responsive to input while rolling out of the pocket | Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson |
Quick Draw | Faster throwing animations when under pressure | Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz, Lamar Jackson |
Dashing Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all throws under 40 yards while running outside the pocket | Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers |
Red Zone Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all unpressured throws inside the red zone | Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees |
No-Look Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all cross-body throws up to 20 yards | Patrick Mahomes |
Anchored Extender | While in the pocket, almost guaranteed to break the first sack attempt by a DB | Dak Prescott |
Gutsy Scrambler | Immune to throw penalties caused by pressure while on the run | Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson |
Sideline Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all throws outside the numbers | Carson Wentz |
Sleight of Hand | High chance of success on pump fakes and double moves | Matt Ryan |
Roaming Deadeye | Perfect Accuracy on all unpressured throws while feet are set outside the pocket | Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson |
Gunslinger | Faster passing animations and increased velocity on bullet passes | Aaron Rodgers |
Fastbreak | Immediately respond to user input (and defenders react more slowly) on designed QB runs | Lamar Jackson |
Tight Out | Improve the catching prowess of all tight ends who are open | Lamar Jackson |
Lofting Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all lob or touch passes | Drew Brees |
Indoor Baller | Easier zone targets when playing indoors | Drew Brees |
Safety Valve | Improved catching for all running backs who are open | Drew Brees |
Clutch | Midway through the 4th quarter in close games, players can easily enter (and remain in) the zone | Tom Brady, Russell Wilson |
Agile Extender | Almost guaranteed to evade the first sack attempt by a blitzing DB in the pocket | Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson |
Juke Box | Steerable juke animations | Lamar Jackson |
Long Range Deadeye | Perfect accuracy on all deep throws with their feet set | Russell Wilson |
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Running back Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Arm Bar | More powerful stiff arm animations | Joe Mixon, Derrick Henry |
Balance Beam | Avoid stumbling when carrying the ball | Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook |
Bruiser | More powerful truck and stiff arm animations | Nick Chubb |
Reach For It | Frequently attempt to gain extra yards while being tackled | Nick Chubb, Ezekiel Elliott |
Leap Frog | Will hold onto the ball if tackled during a hurdle | Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Chistian McCaffrey |
Energizer | Replenish a portion of their stamina upon successfully performing any skill move | Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook |
Evasive | Steerable juke & spin animations | Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey |
Backfield Mismatch | Better catch in traffic and route running when coming out against LBs or DL | Saquon Barkley, Kyle Juszczyk |
Tank | Break almost any hit-stick tackle | Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry |
Backfield Master | Four additional hot routes, better route running, and improved catching vs LB & DL | Chrstian McCaffrey |
Playmaker | Immediate and precisc reactions to playmaker inputs | Christian McCaffrey |
Second Wind | replenish their stamina once per play, when its half depleted | Josh Jacobs |
Bulldozer | More powerful truck animations | Josh Jacobs |
Matchup Nightmare | Sharper cuts and frequently win contested catches when covered by LBs & DL | Alvin Kamara |
RB Apprentice | Four additional hot routes when lined up at RB | Alvin Kamara |
Closer | Reduced zone objectives in the 2nd half | Derrick Henry |
Juke Box | Steerable juke animations | Dalvin Cook |
Nasty Streak | Frequently attempt & win impact blocks against LBs & DBs when playing lineman or fullback | Kyle Juszczyk |
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Wide receiver & tight end Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Short In Elite | More consistency catching passes less than 10 yards from the LoS, inside the numbers | DeAndre Hopkins, George Kittle, Michael Thomas |
Mid In Elite | More consistency catching passes 10-20 yards from LoS, inside the numbers | Courtland Sutton, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, Julian Edelman |
Deep In Elite | More consistency catching passes 20+ yards from LoS, inside the numbers | Stefon Diggs |
Short Out Elite | More consistency catching passes less than 10 yards from the LoS, outside the numbers | Tyreek Hill, George Kittle, DJ Moore, Michael Thomas |
Mid Out Elite | More consistency catching passes 10-20 yards from the LoS, outside the numbers | Keenan Allen, Julio Jones, Kenny Golladay, DJ Moore, Adam Thielen |
Deep Out Elite | More consistency catching passes 20 +yards from the LoS, outside the numbers | Allen Robinson, Mike Evans, Travis Kelce, TY Hilton, Amari Cooper |
Outside Apprentice | When lined up outside have access to four additional hot routes | Allen Robinson, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Julio Jones, Davante Adams |
Juke Box | Steerable juke animations | Stefon Diggs, Odell Beckham, Tyreek Hill |
Grab-N-Go | Quickly shift momentum, change direction, and turn the corner without losing speed | Stefon Diggs, Odell Beckham, Tyreek Hill |
Return Man | Quickly shift momentum, change direction, and turn the corner without losing speed on kick and punt returns | Cordarelle Patterson, Andre Roberts |
Red Zone Threat | When in the red zone, better chance to win contested catches against single coverage | Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Golladay, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp |
Second Wind | Chance to replenish their stamina once per play, when its half depleted | Chris Godwin |
Route Technician | High success rate when creating separation on the last cut of any route | TY Hilton, Amari Cooper, Julio Jones, Davante Adams, Michael Thomas |
Tank | Will break almost any hit-stick tackle | Rob Gronkowski |
TE Apprentice | Four additional hot routes when lined up at TE | Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz |
Leap Frog | Will hold onto the ball if tackled during a hurdle | Travis Kelce |
Route Apprentice | Four additional hot routes regardless of where they line up | Goerge Kittle |
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Offensive lineman Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
All Day | Allow less frequent shed attempts | Mitchell Schwartz, Tyron Smith, David Bakhtiari |
Edge Protector | Reduce an edge rushers chance of using a quick shed move | Mitchell Schwartz, Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari, Ryan Ramczyk |
Screen Protector | Will dominantly win impact block on screen plays | Zack Martin, Jason Kelce, Trent Williams |
Post Up | Almost guaranteed to win any double team block they are engaged in | Zack Martin, Brandon Brooks, Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff |
Nasty Streak | Will frequently attempt and win impact blocks against LB & DB | Quenton Nelson, Lane Johnson, Trent Brown |
Unspun | Defend against spin pass rush moves as if they had an additional resistance point | Andrew Whitworth |
Lifeguard | Ability to defend against swim/club pass rush moves as if they had an additional resistance point | Brandon Brooks, Ronnie Stanley |
Tough Nut | Increased number of blocker resistance points | Terron Armstead |
Puller Elite | Frequently attempt and win pull blocks | Quenton Nelson, David DeCastro |
Matador | Stronger protection against bull rush | Rodney Hudson, Brandon Scherff |
Tear Proof | Ability to defend against rips as if they had an additional resistance point | David DeCastro |
Fool Me Once | Gain blocker resistance points at a faster rate | Lane Johnson, Ryan Ramczyk |
Natural Talent | Start every new blocking encounter with built-in resistance | Jason Kelce |
Pass rush/run defense Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Swim Club | Ignore one bar of blocker resistance when attempting swim/club pass rush moves | Joey Bosa, Demarcus Lawrence, Arik Armstead, JJ Watt |
Edge Threat | Faster, more dominant pass rush moves off the edge | Khalil Mack, Von Miller, Myles Garrett, Joey Bosa, Demarcus Lawrence, Nick Bosa, Calais Campbell, TJ Watt |
No Outsiders | Faster run shed moves against outside zone plays | Khalil Mack, Von Miller, Joey Bosa, Aaron Donald, Cameron Jordan, TJ Watt |
Under Pressure | Apply pressure to the QB from a greater distance | Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, Demarcuse Lawrence, Fletcher Cox, Aaron Donald |
B.O.G.O | Free pass rush move once per play after spending a pass rush point | Shaquil Barrett, Josh Allen |
Run Stopper | Do not need to spend a point on shed attempts during a run play | Calais Campbell, JJ Watt |
Inside Stuff | Faster run shed moves against inside zone plays | Grady Jarrett, Kenny Clark, Aaron Donald, Calais Campbell, Cameron Heyward |
Edge Threat Elite | Faster, more dominant pass rush moves and apply significant pressure off the edge | Chandler Jones, Za'Darius Smith, Cameron Jordan, Danielle Hunter |
Instant Rebate | Refunded a pass rush point when successfully shed blocks | Kenny Clark, Cameron Jordan |
El Toro | Dominant bull rush wins when their pass rush points are full | Myles Garrett, Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, Fletcher Cox, Grady Jarrett, Aaron Donald, JJ Watt |
Speedster | Ignore one bar of blocker resistance when attempting speed rush moves | Nick Bosa, Danielle Hunter |
Extra Credit | Granted an additional maximum pass rush move point | Nick Bosa, Danielle Hunter |
Strip Specialist | Still tackle effectively when trying to strip the ball | Khalil Mack, Myles Garrett, Shaquil Barrett, Chandler Jones, TJ Watt |
Unpredictable | Less likely to increase their blockers resistance bars when performing shed wins | Cameron Heyward |
Reach Elite | Reach out of engaged blocks to tackle/sack nearby ball carriers | Geno Atkins, Chandler Jones, Ryan Kerrigan |
Ripper | Ignore one bar of blocker resistance when attempting rip moves | Geno Atkins |
Goal Line Stuff | Quicker run sheds near the goal line | Chris Jones |
Secure Tackler | Higher success rate on conservative tackles | Fletcher Cox |
Defensive Rally | Grant a bonus pass rush point to all DL on any 3rd & 4th down | Arik Armstead |
Adrenalin Rush | All pass rush points restored after sacking the QB | Von Miller |
Out My Way | Dominant impact block wins against WR, HB, or TE | Za'Darius Smith |
Mr Big Stop | Start 3rd & 4th down with at least half ot ehr maximum pass rush points | Za'Darius Smith |
Off-ball linebacker & defensive back Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Out My Way | Dominant impact block wins against WR, HB, or TE | Bobby Wagner |
Lurker | Can make jumping, 180-degree interceptions while lurking in a zone in the middle of the field | Lavonte David, Eric Kendricks |
Outmatched | Highly likely to win contested catches against running backs | Fred Warner |
Tackle Supreme | Better conservative/dive tackling, are rarely faked out by ball carrier moves, and cannot be faked out when user controlled | Bobby Wagner |
Short Route KO | Force more catch tackle knockouts in man-to-man vs short routes less than 10 yards from the LoS | Chris Harris Jr, Tyrann Mathieu, Jaire Alexander, Marlon Humphrey |
Medium Route KO | Force more catch tackle knockouts in man-to-man vs medium routes, 10-20 yards from the LoS | Micah Hyde, Justin Simmons |
Deep Route KO | Force more catch tackle knockouts in man-to-man vs long routes, 20+ yards from LoS | Darius Slay, Jaire Alexander, Marlon Humphrey |
Flat Zone KO | Force more catch knockouts and react quicker in any flat zone coverage, less than 10 yards from LoS & outside hashes | Derwin James, Tyrann Mathieu, Richard Sherman, Jamal Adams, Stephon Gilmore, Harrison Smith |
Mid Zone KO | Force more catch knockouts and react quicker in any midfield zone coverage, less than 20 yards from LoS inside the numbers, and 10-20 outside | Lavonte David, Budda Baker, Fred Warner, Eric Kendricks |
Deep In Zone KO | Force more catch knockouts and react quicker in deep zone coverage, 20+ yards from the LoS and inside the numbers | Justin Simmons, Devin McCourty, Earl Thomas, Kevin Byard |
Deep Out Zone KO | Force more catch knockouts and react quicker in deep zone coverage, 20+ yards from LoS and outside the hashes | Tre'Davious White, Richard Sherman |
Acrobat | Increased range on pass breakups and interceptions | Tre'Davious White, Chris Harris, Darious Slay, Jaire Alexander, Stephon Gilmore, Jalen Ramsey |
One Step Ahead | React much faster to receiver cut moves when in man coverage | Stephon Gilmore, Jalen Ramsey |
Pick Artist | Higher chance to catch uncontested interceptions, and unlimited stamina on the return (until using a special move or breaking a tackle) | Tre'Davious White, Micah Hyde, Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kevin Byard |
Bench Press | Apply bonus fatigue to their man coverage target after a successful press win | Jalen Ramsey |
Chuck Out | Slow down their target after a successful zone chuck | Byron Jones, Richard Sherman |
Stone Wall | Frequently prevent additional yardage gains while tackling | Budda Baker, Jamal Adams, Earl THomas, Harrison |
Tip Drill | Increased chance to catch passes that have been tipped into the air | Minkah Fitzpatrick |
Unfakeable | Rarely faked out by ball carrier moves (cannot be faked out when user-controlled) | Derwin James, Devin McCourty |
Lumberjack | Do not allow broken tackles and cause more fumbles when cut-sticking ballcarriers | Derwin James |
Enforcer | Don't allow broken tackles when hit-sticking ball carriers - regardless of the runner's size or power | Jamal Adams, Bobby Wagner, Harrison Smith |
Kicker & punter Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
|---|---|---|
Focused Kicker | Slower kicking meter for better power and accuracy | Josh Lambo, Johnny Hekker |
Clutch Kicker | Immune to the 'Ice The Kicker' effect that occurs after the opponents call timeouts in critical situations | Justin Tucker |
Unassigned Superstar abilities
Name | Ability | Positions |
|---|---|---|
Homer | Easier zone targets at home | Any |
Protected | QBs receive better pass blocking from all OL | QB |
Human Joystick | Ball carriers can change direction & turn without losing speed | QB, WR, TE, HB |