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The Madden 26 Gameplay Reveal Deep Dive has arrived, showing off new changes for both Coach and QB play. Overall, Madden 26 is adding a ton of new systems and features to enhance coaches, players, the weather, the depth charts, AI behavior, and so much more. There's a lot to dive in with this new Deep Dive. So without further ado, let's dive right in.
QBs and Coaches Receive Massive Gameplay Overhauls in Madden 26
In the Madden 26 Gameplay Reveal Deep Dive Blog, EA Sports discussed the three core principles when developing this game:
- Signature Identity
- Community Requests
- Foundational Football
But what does this actually mean?
Madden 26 QB DNA Gameplay Explained
In Madden 26, EA Sports has done a few things to improve both QB and Coaches.
Firstly, QB DNA allows for more authentic AI behavior at the position. But not only that, Madden 26 boasts new signature ball holds (nine overall):
- Gunslinger
- Gunslinger One Hand
- Gunslinger Mid
- Gunslinger One Hand Low
- Two Hand Middle
- Two Hand Middle Back
- Two Hand Middle Below Chin
- Two Hand Low
Essentially, these create more realistic QB throwing motions, which the AI can change between in-game. When under pressure, a QB will switch to a two-ball hold in order secure the ball. And while in the pocket, QBs should bounce of their feet more, pat the ball more, and move their head around more as they search for an open man.
But it's more than just pre-play and pocket behavior. Scrambling QBs should now move a lot smoother, with cleaner animations to represent authentic movement. Furthermore, Madden 26 adds new signature run cycles for QBs, giving them unique runs to their real-life counterpart. Additionally, some QBs hold the ball differently when scrambling, making each player more unique.
Lastly, we come to passing, the most fundamental aspect of the position. Overall, Madden 26 adds new passing styles, along with a new signature passes called Signature Off-Platform Throws. These unique passes can only be performed by specific players. Some examples include:
- Patrick Mahomes' No-look passes
- Crossbody throws from Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen
- Jump Passes on the run from Caleb Williams
Essentially, Madden 26 offers new animations for almost every throw type to improve the realism and experience. Additionally, for more technical players, Madden 26 adds three new unique base arm slots (Over-Top, 3/4 High and 3/4 Low) which gets assigned to each QB based on their real-life counterpart. Some QBs, like Matt Stafford, can actually switch between these slots for more dynamic range.
Overall, Madden 26 adds over 500 new animations along with 40 unique quarterback “recipes” so that each QB feels and plays different. But that's not all.
When actually controlling a QB, the latest Madden title adds some new mechanics for players to try out.
First comes Field Vision, a new technology that “detects the sight line of a QB in the pocket based on his height.” For example, Shorter QBs struggle to see over the line and make a throw. Receiver icons fade out depending on where they are. Overall, this feature brings more balance to the position, giving mobile QBs a tougher time to be overpowered.
But Madden still allows you to perform ball carrier special moves when behind the line. You can evade sacks, spin, or juke to avoid pressure and keep the play alive. Furthermore, the developers fine tuned pass trajectories in an effort too improve pass quality.
Lastly, we come to Traits, the final new mechanic for QBs in Madden 26. Traits have received a complete overhaul in Madden 26, which will have 50 total at launch. These are similar to your “mentals” from College Football 25, and allow for more unique play between different QBs. Each trait is also based on how QBs play.
For example, the Up and Over Trait gives QBs a higher chance of throwing lob passes. QBs with Happy Feet are always moving around. Overall, these traits enable each QB to play differently. Feel free to check the full list of traits.
That includes all the new gameplay features, but QB AI is also receiving other improvements worth noting. These include:
- A QB's decision making on when to scramble (based on down, distance, score, and clock)
- A QB's awareness of the pocket, desired launch point, and dropback depth
- An ability to make hot reads (based on ratings)
- Overhauled Read progression AI
- Improved QB progression process that uses their Awareness rating to determine their skilll.
- Allows QBs to take more shots down the field during one-on-one coverage
Overall, that includes all the major changes for Madden 26 in terms of QB gameplay. But what about coaches?
How does Coach DNA affect Gameplay in Madden 26?
Article Continues Below
In Madden 26, it's not just the players, but the coaches who will receive some major improvements. Overall, the developers added tons of new features to deliver a more authentic, fun, and unique gameplay experience.
AI Playcalling has become more dynamic. By using real NFL Data, not only are players more accurately controlled by AI, but so are coaches. But several things can also impact a coach's play-calling. Score, weather, clock, distance, personnel, field position, and more can affect Coach AI playcalling.
But still, Dan Campbell will likely go for it 4th down. The Eagles will often run RPOs and Zone Reads. So expect to see your favorite teams play as they should.
One new feature coming to Madden 26 for coaches is Adaptive Counters. These change the suggested plays based on how your opponent operates throughout the game. For example, the game may suggest QB contain plays if you play against mobile QBs who scramble a lot.
Throughout the season, EA Sports will update their league model. This will continue to ensure that teams play accurately based on how they play in real life.
Another new feature coming to Madden 26 is Coach Speak. This feature adds explanations as to why each playcall recommendation is made. It's a nice little feature to give you a bit more insight on your coach's mind set when calling plays.
You can either have the coach make the play call for you, or choose your own plays. Overall, this is a mostly cosmetic feature to up the presentational factor.
Madden 26 also introduces Realtime Coaching AI, which first came to College Football 25 last year. This essentially allows coaches to do several things during a game. From disguising your defense's plans to advanced pre-play adjustments you have more control over your experience.
Coach Archetypes play a big role into the realism of Madden 26. Some teams will blitz a lot, others will mask what their intentions are, but all will make adjustments throughout a game to reflect a more accurate experience.
Lastly, we come to Playbooks. Madden 26 is adding nearly 1,000 new plays for the game, which will be available on launch day. This is twice the amount of plays introduced in last year's installment. Some of the new plays focus on Motions, Shifts, Stunts, Twists, Defensive pressure, and coaching adjustments.
To compensate for these new plays, EA Sports added new locomotion sets, improved logic for defenders in when following in motion, and the ability to make adjustments after a hot route has started.
On defense, you can choose from 12 different stunts, depending on the formation of your defense. Depending on the play, you may have no stunts to use at all. But with new exotic blitz pressures, you'll still have a variety of ways to catch offenses off-guard.
As we mentioned before, Madden 26 adds some pretty big changes to coach behavior. This, of course, includes Coach Adjustments. Overall, this system allows you to adjust things like:
- Alignment of safeties on defense
- Safeties' width to Spread, Wide, and Pinch and Midpoint
- Safeties' Involvement vs. the run
- How defenders play against Peek RPOs and Reads
And of course, you can reset your adjustments to default before the play begins. One big change this year though includes the removal of the ‘Conservative' ball carrier adjustment. This adjustment now activates only by AI-controlled ball carrier.
Overall, that just includes the changes to Coaching and QB gameplay in Madden 26. However, the game features a lot of other changes this year. From weather to Superstar and more, these changes just mark the tip of the iceberg.
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