In the long run of Madden 21 coins cover athletes for the Madden NFL series, virtually all them have been offensive players. Running backs and quarterbacks are the most prevalent, with a couple of wide receivers mixed in. That doesn't mean that a big time defensive celebrity has never made an appearance. It is just incredibly infrequent. In reality, since 2000, just three defensive players have made the cover of the match. The then-Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman has been the latest of this trio.

Aaron Donald would be the fourth largest defensive star to get the honor. The Los Angeles Rams celebrity is regarded as one of the most dominant defensive lineman at the history of this game and easily the finest of his generation. While his numbers weren't eye popping at the 2020-21 season, he finished second in the entire league in sacks. Probably the only reason that he did not finish first is because he was routinely double-teamed by blockers and at times triple-teamed. There is also an argument for Donald being the first Xbox Series X/S and PS5 cover athlete, as Sherman created the cover for Madden NFL 15. That installment was the first in the franchise for the Xbox One and PS4 creation of gaming.

Deshaun Watson already has a background with Madden NFL 21 as he was one of those players who made the game's virtual Pro Bowl last season. However, despite being one of the very best signal callers in the game, he hasn't graced the cover of this game. This year, he led the NFL in passing yards with 4,823 while casting for 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Like Allen, he's also a double threat as he conducted for 444 yards. There are a couple of mmoexp mut 21 coins strikes against Watson's candicacy.