Madden NFL 24 makes some big strides in pass coverage. We’ve added new DB movement types called read steps. These are slower backpedals that allow them to evaluate the routes and attack the short pass game, while also looking more authentic and athletic in their movement. Slants and short crossers have a higher chance of breakups or interceptions.
We’ve added crossover movement that allows the DB’s to move at high speeds and still see the ball to make a play on it, users also have the ability to control whether they strafe, crossover or sprint.
Based on player feedback, our team worked to eliminate cases where “psychic” DB’s would sometimes break on balls they couldn’t see. Now, defenders need to see the ball to break on it. This was common in man coverage and has been re-done to be more realistic. We call this “see ball, play ball” on the dev team.
Last, we have tuned zone defender break times so that defenders can shut down passes made into their zone by intercepting, swatting with more contextually appropriate animations, or be in position to land a big catch tackle to knock the ball out.
Dev Tip: Strafe is LT/L2. Crossover is LT/L2+RT/R2. Sprint is RT/R2.