Madden 21 X-Factor Players: EA Reveals Superstar X-Factors for Cornerbacks and Safeties
On Friday, EA officially unveiled what may be the final Madden 21 X-Factor players ahead of the new game’s release. Over the past week, we’ve seen a number of star players including 99 Club members Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, Michael Thomas, and Aaron Donald. Friday showed us Superstar X-Factors for 99 Club member Stephon Gilmore and other cornerbacks as well as safeties. Here are the details on what they’ll have in the new game.
Stephon Gilmore among four Madden 21 X-Factor players with Shutdown
After recently revealing pass rushers’ Superstar X-Factor abilities, EA is now showing us cornerbacks and safeties.
New England Patriots defensive star Stephon Gilmore will be one of several Madden 21 X-Factor players with Shutdown. This will allow him to provide tighter coverage and get more interceptions when it comes to contested catches.
All that’s needed to trigger this is for Gilmore to force two incompletions. However, should an opponent manage to get 30 offensive yards, that will knock him out of the zone.
The Patriots CB is joined by three other cornerbacks in the new game with this ability. They are the Green Bay Packers’ Jaire Alexander, San Francisco 49ers’ Richard Sherman, and Buffalo Bills’ Tre’davious White.
Gilmore’s Pats teammate Devin McCourty will be the only player in the game with Zone Hawk. That allows him to make more interceptions while in zone coverage. Just two forced incompletions activate it, but 30 yards of offense from the opponent will deactivate it.
Other X-Factors include Avalance, Bottleneck, & Reinforcement
Other Madden 21 Superstar X-Factor players include Derwin James (Chargers), Harrison Smith (Vikings), and Tyrann Mathieu (Chiefs). These three strong safeties have the X-Factor known as Reinforcement.
With this particular ability, they’ll have a “higher chance to defeat run blocks and disrupt catches.” Gamers will be able to trigger this by getting two tackles for losses or forcing two incompletions. If the opponent can record 20 yards of offense or more, they’ll knock the X-Factor out.
The Los Angeles Rams’ Jalen Ramsey will be the only player with Bottleneck. He can win man press attempts with dominance once he’s forced two incompletions. If the opponent gets 30 yards of offense or more, Ramsey’s knocked out of the zone and loses use of the X-Factor.
Last but not least is Avalanche which seems like it may have seriously overpowered two stars. Just two players have this one and they’re both part of the Seattle Seahawks. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is one of them, while his newest teammate Jamal Adams is the other.
Both Wagner and Adams will be able to unleash Avalanche by getting three hit-stick tackles. Once they’ve done that, the Superstar X-Factor lets them force fumbles using downhill hit-sticks. As with other Superstar X-Factors, the opposition needs 30 yards of offense or more to wipe out the ability.
View all of the latest Superstar X-Factor players here at EA’s website. Also check out Eric Rayweather’s video below in which he covers the other abilities that players will get.
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