In Madden NFL 25’s Be a Player mode, you can choose to select a known real-life player, choose one from the Hall of Fame legends you may have unlocked in Madden Ultimate Team, or create your own.
Most of us would obviously opt to create our own player, simply because it’s such an exciting thing to do, and also because we gamers love having things in our control.
Madden NFL 25 Be A Player Position Archetypes
Creating a player will require you to choose a back-story, customize the appearance, and most important of all choose the position.
Now, choosing a position may sound like an easy job, but it’s actually not. Even for real-life football players, choosing a position in the virtual world of Madden 25 can be a daunting task because of the various archetypes associated with each position.
You might end up choosing a certain position and a certain archetype, only to find out it does not suit your play-style at all. For this reason, the player position is arguably the most important and main determining feature for your success.
Your style also dictates your primary attributes that you would be pouring XP into, and also how much of an impact you could make in your team’s success.
In Madden NFL 25, you can choose to play in any position except as an offensive line, a kicker, or a punter.
Unlike last year’s Madden, you can select which side of the field you prefer for defensive positions, allowing you to be more comfortable and tailor the character to your needs.
Offense
Offensive positions include the Quarterback, Halfback, Wide Receiver, and the Tight End. We’ll check out the various archetypes for each of these positions, and how they determine your role and attributes.
Quarterback
Balanced
Balanced Quarterbacks have a nice mix of accuracy and range to their throws. They have good passing abilities, and enough speed to run if the pocket breaks down.
You can’t expect anything out of the ordinary in one specific skill, but you can expect an overall effective and reliable QB with the Balanced archetype.
Pocket Passer
Pocket passes are a central part of a team, and designed to stay in the pocket.
They have amazing passing skills, accurate throws, and brilliant elusiveness. However, they lack speed, and the ability to ‘carry’ their team, and are more like playmakers.
This is an excellent choice for those who have agile offensives in the team they choose. Consider spending XP on speed to become a real threat.
Strong Arm
When you need range, and need to create those out-of-the-blue opportunities, then perhaps it’s time to look at a Strong Arm QB. These guys have amazing power in their throws, though their accuracy is slightly sacrificed.
They can pass decently and occupy the same region as a Pocket Passer. You should spend some points on Accuracy, which will make you a complete demon.
Mobile
If you’re a player who has a fast left thumb, then perhaps Mobile is the right choice for you. This archetype excels at scrambling around opponents and recovering fast, even when play breaks down.
They are fast, threatening QBs with good short-pass accuracy, an ideal choice for those who prefer a build-up play and possess good maneuvering skills.
West Coast
West Coasts are very similar to Mobile QBs, except they have much more accuracy in their short passes. If you want to be a true playmaker for your team, this is a good choice. However, West Coast aren’t as agile as Mobile QBs, but they more than compensate for that with their inhuman passing abilities and opportunity creation.
Halfback
Balanced
A balanced Halfback will be able to do everything, with the ability to adapt to most situations. It’s an ideal choice if you’re going into a strong team with an already stable and highly specialized offensive setup. But if your team is in need of specialists, you might want to look further ahead.
Speed
Speed is a very important trait for a HB, and if you have it, you’ll be making the scoreboard role. However, as a speedster, you’ll have a little less balance and strength, and will thus tend to fumble and/or get tackled more easily.
If you have good control over the stick, then consider it, otherwise go for something that would give you more resilience.
The upside to the speedster is that his speed attribute is so high that you can focus on improving on your weaknesses for the first few seasons without worrying about it at all.
Power Back
You’re the guy who can take simultaneous tackles from three men, and still be on your feet.
You won’t have that much speed, but you’ll be standing like a pillar for the most part of your offense. This is a fantastic choice for teams who can get into the red zone easily, where you can just force your way through to the touchdown.
Balance this archetype even more by spending some XP on speed and you’ll become the HB every defense unit (apart from yours) hates.
One Cut
While Speed archetypes have insane acceleration and velocity, their momentum will often make it troublesome for them to maneuver around and evade tackles.
If you want to have that kind of artistic flamboyance as a HB, you need to consider the Once Cut archetype.
They are very quick on their feet, and can move around on the field very well, evading and fooling opponents. However, they aren’t as quick as speedsters, and they still can’t withstand a heavy tackle, so make sure that thumb is exercised before choosing this archetype.
Receiving
Want to play as a HB and also provide Receiving support? This is the right archetype for you if you do.
You’ll be acting as a HB and a wide receiver, and will have very good agility because of this reason. This will allow you to have a large impact on your team’s performance. However, you’ll still be susceptible to tackles like a One Cut or speedster.
Wide Receiver
Balanced
If you’re going into a team that doesn’t need much other than fulfilling your role as a WR, then a balanced one is good enough.
You’ll have great speed, agility, and acceleration, even better than HBs, but you won’t excel at anything. If your team has a unit that is demanding of highly specific skillsets, then consider other archetypes.
Speed
Wide Receivers are arguably the fastest players on the field, perhaps even faster than HBs. And if you want to further complement that attribute, select this archetype to make yourself whoosh past Cornerbacks without them even noticing.
However, you’ll only be able to shine when deep passes are called here, and you shouldn’t expect yourself to stay on your feet when you meet a good tackler.
Route Runner
Zigzagging your way through opponent defenses is what your specialty will be as a Route Runner. This archetype is best for those who have a fast thumb and brilliant reflexes.
Complex routes and the ability to fool opponents is your specialty, but on average you’ll be smaller in size than other WRs, and won’t be able to withstand a tackle.
Red Zone Threat
If you want to surprise all those opponent defenders with some stunning out-of-the-blue catches, then this archetype is ideal for you. The Red Zone Threat has an intricate ability to catch passes even in crowded areas, and hang on to the ball for life.
Your strong physique will allow you to withstand tackles, giving more control, but you won’t be as fast as a speedster WR or as sly and slippery as a Router Runner.
Possession
Your Catch in Traffic ability is second only to the Red Zone Threat, but overall you are the best catcher on the field. Your possession of the ball is amazing, and you have good ability to withstand tackles. However, because of your lack of speed, you can be easily overwhelmed by Cornerbacks.
Tight End
Balanced
Similar story as the balanced archetypes of all the rest of the offensives. Fine at everything, but not extraordinary at anything.
Receiving
If you want to mesmerize people with your catching abilities, then you should totally go for this archetype.
You won’t have a physique built to withstand a tackle, nor will you be able to block, but your amazing receiving and catch ratings should be enough to make you a star in the eyes of the public.
Vertical Threat
Vertical Threats are brilliant receivers, but they add a little more with fast legs. They can run complex routes and evade opponents easily, and should have a good impact even though they won’t have the same amazing hands like those of the receiving archetype.
Defense
Defensive End
Balanced
An average DE, the Balanced archetype has decent physical strength and other attributes, but lacks expertise that would make him stand out completely in a defensive line.
Speed Rush
If you want to sacrifice your physique for some great speed and pass rushes, you should look to this archetype.
The Speed Rush DE is excellent at block shedding and overall superior in agility and skills when compared to other Des, but his lack of physical strength can leave him susceptible to being overwhelmed by a stampeding set of offensive opponents.
Defensive Tackle
Balanced
Same story, different position. You’ll possess good balanced out traits, but it’ll be hard for you to make a real impact as a defender. If your team lacks a stable DT, consider this, otherwise look towards the other archetypes.
Pass Rushing
The Pass Rushing archetype features a physically smaller DT as compared to the others, but they’re experts at pass rushing and have great agility and maneuverability. You’ll have lots of acceleration, but will lack the pure tackling power, so there’s no way you could ever take down a rushing Power Back HB on your own.
Prototype
If you’re looking for some short-termed fame, then a DT Prototype is the way to go. These badasses have some amazing speed and strength, but they aren’t as intelligent as Pass Rushers or Balanced DTs.
They will rise to fame very quickly, and make huge impacts in the first couple of seasons, but their effectiveness will dip drastically, since they don’t gain XP as quickly as most other archetypes.
Consider this if you’re looking for a very short but impactful Connected Franchise career.
Middle Linebacker
Balanced
Now, most will say “oh, another Balanced archetype…meh”, but in reality the MLB Balanced version is perhaps the best of all. They have high ratings and are exceptionally good at their job, with brilliant blitzing, man coverage, zone coverage, speed, acceleration, blocking, and catching.
They are overall the most well-crafted defensive archetypes in the game, and an excellent choice for beginners. But if you’re looking for a very specialized MLB, consider the other variants.
3-4 Tackler
Blitz, blitz, blitz. That’s all you’ll be doing with this archetype. You won’t be very good on the pass because of low coverage, but with the repetitive tackling, block shedding, and aggressive mentality, you should attain quite a bit of success with this archetype.
Prototype
This is similar to the Prototype DT, with you starting off with fantastic ratings and brilliant physical attributes. You’ll be an amazing MLB for a couple of seasons, but the lowered ability to progress due to less XP will frustrate you a lot if you’re looking for a career that lasts more than just a few in-game years.
Cover 2
This is the exact opposite of the 3-4 Tackler. You’ll be acting more like a fast-paced Cornerback because of your relatively small physique and high speed/agility. You’ll have fantastic coverage and will be able to defend zones quite well, but you won’t have that block shedding skill, and will be pretty worthless in blitz.
Outside Linebacker
Balanced
You’ll be nearly as good as the balanced MLB. Notice how I say ‘nearly’. It’s because you’ll have slightly more speed, but also slightly decreased strength, which means you won’t be as effective even if you are faster.
Nevertheless, it’s a great choice and the second-best balanced archetype for any position.
3-4 Pass Rusher
You won’t much coverage rating as other OLB, but you will definitely have much better speed, acceleration, and block shedding. Physical tackling won’t be very special either, but you’ll excel at blitz, making you fairly effective overall.
Prototype
This is like the prototypes of the DT and MLB, though not nearly as strong as the DT’s. You’ll have brilliant physical attributes, but will struggle to progress because of lowering XP earnings. It’s a good bet for those looking for a short, emphatic career that lasts only for a few in-game years.
Cover 2
This is the opposite of a 3-4 Pass Rusher. You’ll be excellent at zone and man covering, and brilliant at pursuits, but you’ll be worthless at blitz and block shedding. It’s a challenging yet exciting archetype for those who already have great blitz and block shedding players in their team’s lineup.
Cornerback
Balanced
Cornerbacks are among the fastest players in the field, and a balanced CB is no different. You’ll have the speed necessary for your role, but overall you won’t excel at one specific thing. Consider this if your team lacks good CB, so you can give an all-rounder CB service to them.
Man-to-Man
If you want pure speed and aggression as a defender, than consider this role. Man to Man CBs are extremely fast, have brilliant acceleration, and outstanding man coverage. You’ll have so much speed that you might even be able to tackle down a Speed WR.
The archetype lacks somewhat in zone coverage and tackling though, but if you can sacrifice those attributes for the initial few years (and invest in them with XP during the time), you should seriously consider this role.
Prototype
A very similar story to the rest of the Prototype defenders. Though you won’t be as good as the DT prototype, you will still have brilliant physical attributes initially, but won’t be able to work on your weakness or improve yourself too quickly because of low XP earning.
Zone
Unlike the Man-to-Man variant, who is excellent at man coverage, the Zone archetype excels at zone covering. However, this is arguably the slowest CB role – your physical attributes are much lower, and you will need a lot of good reflexes and decision-making if you want to defend against a set of witty WRs. This is an archetype that only experts should try out.
Safety
Balanced
Balanced safeties are a lot like balanced Cornerbacks, with great speed and acceleration that only other CBs can surpass. Apart from that, there is nothing too special about the balanced archetype.
Playmaker
The name says it all. You’ll have great intangibles and awareness, and also fairly good speed. You won’t have much man or zone coverage though. This is an ideal archetype for those you like to think analytically and fast. A playmaker is all about decisions and thinking your way out of demanding situations.
Prototype
Again, the Safety prototype has a similar story as those of the other prototypes. Great physical attributes, but low intangibles and XP earning capability. Consider it only for a short career.
Run Support
As a Run Support, you’ll be amazing in tackling, block shedding, and pursuit attributes, surpassing all other Safeties in them, but everything else will suffer.
Most teams won’t really have a need for you, because safety blitzes aren’t used regularly, so it’s a tough choice unless you have a specific team in mind that would actually utilize your skills.
