In this Madden NFL 21 Superstar Abilities guide, we’ll be walking you through each player’s unique ability. We will detail the effects of every ability and the players those abilities are unique to.
Madden NFL 21 Superstar Abilities
Madden NFL 21 brings players a bunch of new X-Factor and superstar abilities for players to experiment with.
These Madden NFL 21 Superstar abilities are exclusive to specific players and are meant to reflect the characteristics and traits that these respective players display in their real-life on the playing field.
Quarterback’s X-Factor Abilities
Ability | Effect | Players |
Pro Reads | Highlight the first open receiver from the pocket. | Tom Brady, Drew Brees |
Bazooka | +15 yards to the maximum throwing distance, 80 yards is the limit. | Patrick Mahomes |
Gambler | Can not be intercepted by AI defenders. | Aaron Rodgers |
Running Back X-Factor Abilities
Ability | Effect | Players |
First One Free | Increase the fakeout rate of a player’s next juke, spin, or hurdle. | Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook |
Freight Train | Increase the chance to break the next tackle. | Ezekiel Elliott, Derrick Henry |
Wrecking Ball | High success rate on the next three trucks or stiff-arms. | Nick Chubb |
Ankle Breaker | Increase fakeout rates on spins, jukes, and hurdles after catches. | Christian McCaffrey |
Wide Receiver and Tight-End X-Factor Abilities
Ability | Effect | Players |
Double Me | Win aggressive catches against single coverage. | Travis Kelce, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, Davante Adams, Adam Thielen |
RAC ‘Em Up | Win RAC catches against single coverage. | Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill |
Max Security | High success rate on possession catches. | Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Michael Thomas |
YAC ‘Em Up | Increase the chance to break the first post-catch tackle. | George Kittle |
Defensive X-Factor Abilities
Ability | Effect | Players |
Unstoppable Force | Increase 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 | Apply pressure on Quarterbacks when the X-Factor player is engaged with blockers. | Fletcher Cox, Chandler Jones, Von Miller. |
Relentless | Give player first rush move attempt for free. | Nick Bosa, JJ Watt. |
Reinforcement | Higher chance to defeat run blocks and disrupt catches. | Derwin James, Harrison Smith |
Avalanche | Guarantee downhill hit-sticks force fumbles. | Bobby Wagner, Jamal Adams |
Blitz | Players wipe opposing blockers’ resistance bars. | Aaron Donald |
Run Stuffer | Increase win rate and block shed speed against one-on-one run blocks. | Calais Campbell |
Momentum Shift | Knock all on-field opponents out of the zone and force them to lose any progression they had towards the zone. | Chris Jones |
Shutdown | Tighter coverage and more frequent interceptions on contested catches. | Tre’Davious White, Tyrann Mathieu, Richard Sherman, Jaire Alexander, Stephon Gilmore |
Zone Hawk | More interceptions in zone coverage. | Devin McCourty |
Bottleneck | Win man-press attempts. | Jalen Ramsey |
Unassigned X-Factor Abilities
Ability | Effect |
Hi-Lo Deadeye | High and low passes thrown with perfect accuracy. |
Run N Gun | Perfect accuracy while throwing on the run. |
Brick Wall | Passers guaranteed to break the first sack attempt by any blitzing defender. |
Omaha | Passers will have a complete vision of secondary’s defensive coverage prior to the snap. |
Mossed | Greater success rate on aggressive catches of 55+ yards regardless of coverage. |
Wrecking Ball | Running backs have an increased success rate on the next three trucks or stiff-arms. |
Grab and Smash | Receivers will have a greater success chance on stiff-arm and truck attempts after the catch. |
Vanguard | Blockers are guaranteed to dominate impact block wins. |
Selfless | Players can allow all on-field teammates to enter the zone. |
Universal Coverage | Defenders are guaranteed knockouts. |
Quarterback Superstar Abilities
Ability | Effect | 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 | Four extra hot routes accessible during pre-play. | Tom Brady |
Set Feet Lead | Greater throw power on bullet precision passes while feet are set. | Tom Brady |
Conductor | Make all hot routes and blocking adjustments twice as fast. | Tom Brady |
Escape Artist | More responsive to input when 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 | Guaranteed to break the first sack attempt by a DB while in the pocket. | 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 | Great 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 on designed QB runs. Defenders will respond slower. | Lamar Jackson |
Tight Out | Improved catching prowess of all tight ends which 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 the zone, and remain within it. | Tom Brady, Russell Wilson |
Agile Extender | Pretty much 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 feet set. | Russell Wilson |
Running Back Superstar Abilities
Ability | Effect | 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 | Hold onto the ball if tackled during a hurdle. | Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey |
Energizer | Replenish a portion of their stamina when any skill move is performed successfully. | 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 any hit-stick tackle (Almost). | Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry |
Backfield Master | Four additional hot routes, better route running, and improved catching vs LB and DL. | Christian McCaffrey |
Playmaker | Immediate and precise reactions to playmaker inputs. | Christian McCaffrey |
Second Wind | Replenish 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 |
Wide Receiver and Tight-End Superstar Abilities
Ability | Effect | Players |
Short In Elite | More consistent in catching passes less than 10 yards from the LoS, inside the numbers. | DeAndre Hopkins, George Kittle, Michael Thomas |
Mid In Elite | More consistent in catching passes 10-20 yards from LoS, inside the numbers. | Courtland Sutton, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, Julian Edelman |
Deep In Elite | More consistent in catching passes 20+ yards from LoS, inside the numbers | Stefon Diggs |
Short Out Elite | More consistent in catching passes less than 10 yards from the LoS, outside the numbers. | Tyreek Hill, George Kittle, DJ Moore, Michael Thomas |
Mid Out Elite | More consistent in 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 consistent in 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 | Be able to quickly shift momentum, change direction, and turn the corner without losing any speed. | Stefon Diggs, Odell Beckham, Tyreek Hill |
Return Man | Be able to quickly shift momentum, change direction, and turn the corner without losing speed on kick and punt returns. | Cordarelle Patterson, Andre Roberts |
Red Zone Threat | In the red zone, have a better chance to win contested catches against single coverage. | Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Golladay, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp |
Second Wind | A chance to replenish their stamina once per play, when it is half depleted. | Chris Godwin |
Route Technician | A higher 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 | 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 |
Offensive Lineman Superstar Abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
All Day | Prevent shed attempts more frequently. | Mitchell Schwartz, Tyron Smith, David Bakhtiari |
Edge Protector | Reduce an edge rusher’s chance of using a quick shed move. | Mitchell Schwartz, Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari, Ryan Ramczyk |
Screen Protector | Win impact block on screen plays dominantly. | Zack Martin, Jason Kelce, Trent Williams |
Post Up | Guaranteed to win any double team block. | Zack Martin, Brandon Brooks, Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff |
Nasty Streak | 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 or 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 a 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 or club pass rush moves. | Joey Bosa, Demarcus Lawrence, Arik Armstead, JJ Watt |
Edge Threat | Faster and 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, Demarcus Lawrence, Fletcher Cox, Aaron Donald |
B.O.G.O | Free pass rush moves only 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 | Dominate 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 | Have an additional maximum pass rush move point. | Nick Bosa, Danielle Hunter |
Strip Specialist | 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 or 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 | A greater success rate on conservative tackles. | Fletcher Cox |
Defensive Rally | Grant a bonus pass rush point to all DL on any 3rd and 4th down. | Arik Armstead |
Adrenalin Rush | All of your pass rush points are restored after sacking the QB. | Von Miller |
Out My Way | Dominate impact block wins against WR, HB, or TE. | Za’Darius Smith |
Mr Big Stop | Start 3rd and 4th down with at least half of their maximum pass rush points | Za’Darius Smith |
Off-ball Linebacker and Defensive Back Superstar Abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
Out My Way | Dominant impact block wins against WR, HB, or TE. | Bobby Wagner |
Lurker | Able to make jumping, 180-degree interceptions while lurking in a zone in the middle of the field. | Lavonte David, Eric Kendricks |
Outmatched | Likely to win contested catches against running backs. | Fred Warner |
Tackle Supreme | Better conservative or dive tackling 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, Darius 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. | Tre’Davious White, Micah Hyde, Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kevin Byard |
Bench Press | Apply bonus fatigue to their man coverage target once you get a successful press win. | Jalen Ramsey |
Chuck Out | Slow down their target after a successful zone chuck. | Byron Jones, Richard Sherman |
Stone Wall | 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. However, cannot be faked out if 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 and Punter Superstar Abilities
Name | Ability | Players |
Focused Kicker | Slow down the 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 and turn without losing speed. | QB, WR, TE, HB |