Madden 16: Breaking Down Gameplay Trailer and Cover Selection

It should have come as no surprise that Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants won the Madden 16 cover vote. After all, he had an amazing rookie season. 

Despite missing all of training camp, preseason and four regular-season games, Beckham Jr. still managed to tally 1,305 yards receiving, 12 touchdowns and 91 receptions. One of those receptions was among the greatest catches you'll ever see. 

It was one of the moments that sticks in your mind, and it apparently made an impression on voters and the folks who did the Madden 16 cover:

Were there other guys who perhaps had better seasons? Yes, the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt were the best players on both sides of the ball. That said, Beckham Jr. was the coolest, and that's why he won the cover vote.

As should be expected, the cover athlete is one of the stars featured in the game's biggest pre-release trailer:

Madden 16 puts a new emphasis on the passing game on both sides of the ball. In the trailer we learn there are new ways to put special touch on passes. We also saw that receivers can choose the type of catch they want to make.

If they want to catch the ball in stride to pick up yards after the catch, they can do that. If they want to secure the catch and sacrifice the YAC, that's an option. Finally, if they need to get aggressive and attempt to make the spectacular grab, that's also a button push away.

It should be noted, player ratings figure prominently in the success and failure of all these choices. You can see all of the player ratings at EASports.com.

A player like the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant has made a habit of making spectacular grabs in his career. Thus he has a 98 rating in Spectacular Catch. In case you were wondering, Beckham Jr. is tied for fourth overall in the wide receiver rankings.

His Spectacular Catch rating is a 99. Could it be anything lower after the catch and the other awesome grabs he had in 2014? I think not.

On the defensive side of the ball, players will be able to choose whether they will play the man or the ball. Per EA Sports, "QB Spy logic has been updated to be more effective at stopping rushing QBs." That's a needed feature to put a stop to those online gamers who spam the scrambling prowess of mobile quarterbacks.

At this point, we've only seen the trailer above and gazed at the beauty of the screenshots provided. Check back to Bleacher Report on the release date (Aug. 25) for a full review of the game.

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Images provided by EA Sports.

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