There’s only two things worth downloading from the Download Center ; Playbooks & Schools. For Schools you have to build them outside of the game and then import them in after, I would love something similar for playbooks.

The UI and everything within the custom playbooks kind of sucks, and hasn’t changed in 3 years. Being able to use filters when building out playbooks, and ability to drag & drop, or click to add, would be huge improvements themselves even if the “gameplan” section and in-game UI were to remain unchanged.

Third-party websites have already ripped the playbook data and posted it online, and the filters & searchbars are already there and functional.

There seemed to be a sizable uptick in custom playbook creation and discussion in 26 compared to 25 (from what I’ve noticed). So this would only help further that, as it would open things up more, in terms of time and freedom to create on the go.

“Small community”, “niche topic”, I know, but the bones are already there for EA to just pick up and run with. And niche parts of the game didn’t scare EA away from adding one legged sleeves and new crop tops for the Build-A-Boyfriend crowd.

Don’t even need fancy graphics or visuals, any form of a glorified Excel spreadsheet that imports directly to the Download Center would be all that is necessary. Just need the tools to better do the job, save time, and tinker with outside of game itself.

The Playbooks & Their Descriptions :

3-2-6 : A pass-focused approach built to counter spread offenses, prioritizing speed and coverage across the field.

3-3-5 : A balanced approach between size and speed, using quick players to attack gaps and defend against the pass.
3-3-5 Tite : Built to control the interior run, forcing plays outside towards LBs & DBs.
3-3-5 Shell : A flexible approach designed to disguise coverage, with defenders often rotating after the snap.
3-3-5 Man : A modern approach built to counter the spread, manning up defenders all across the field.
3-3-5 Man Pressure : An aggressive approach built to disrupt the offense, with defenders playing man while sending pressure.
3-3-5 Zone : A modern approach to defending the pass, with defenders playing zones and reacting to the quarterback.
3-3-5 Zone Pressure : An aggressive approach built to confuse offenses, with defenders in zone coverage while sending pressure.
3-3-5 Three High : A modern approach to limit big plays, using three deep safeties to protect over the top of the defense.

Base 3-4 : A balanced approach used across all levels of football, where outside linebackers often serve as primary pass rushers.
3-4 Multiple : Allows for an additional level of flexibility from the 3-4 alignment.
3-4 Shell : A flexible approach designed to disguise coverage, with defenders often rotating after the snap.
3-4 Man : An aggressive approach built to disrupt the offense, with defenders playing man coverage all across the field.
3-4 Man Pressure : An aggressive approach built to disrupt the offense, with defenders playing tight man coverage while sending extra rushers.
3-4 Zone : A balanced approach to defend the pass, with defenders covering areas and reacting to the quarterback.
3-4 Zone Pressure : An aggressive approach built to confuse offenses, with defenders sitting in zone coverage while sending extra rushers.

4-2-5 : A modern approach built for versatility, where LBs and DBs must handle both the run and pass responsibilities.
4-2-5 Shell : A flexible approach designed to disguise coverage, with defenders often rotating after the snap.
4-2-5 Man : A modern approach built to counter the spread, manning up defenders all across the field.
4-2-5 Man Pressure : An aggressive approach built to disrupt the offense, with defenders playing man while sending pressure.
4-2-5 Zone : A modern approach to defending the pass, with defenders playing zones and reacting to the quarterback.
4-2-5 Zone Pressure : An aggressive approach built to confuse offenses, with defenders in zone coverage while sending pressure.

Base 4-3 : Common across all levels of football, the front focuses on stopping the run while also generating consistent pass rush.
4-3 Multiple : Allows for an additional level of flexibility from the 4-3 alignment.
4-3 Shell : A flexible approach designed to disguise coverage, with defenders often rotating after the snap.
4-3 Man : A balanced approach across all levels of football, where defenders play man coverage, matching up across the field.
4-3 Man Pressure : An aggressive approach built to disrupt the offense, with defenders playing tight man coverage while sending extra rushers.
4-3 Zone : A balanced approach to defend the pass, with defenders covering areas and reacting to the quarterback.
4-3 Zone Pressure : An aggressive approach built to confuse offenses, with defenders sitting in zone coverage while sending extra rushers.
4-3 Press Quarters : A physical approach meant to challenge receivers, with defenders pressing at the line with deep over top help to limit big plays.

**Multiple : ***Description just mimics that of 3-4 Zone Pressure*

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PROS : Things that I like, and that seem promising.

- Baked-in Identities : I spent much of my time on 26 creating playbooks, with a good portion of that spent on creating defenses with this exact thing in mind, building them around a focused identity.

- New Formations : There are a lot new formations brought in, that also help lean into the identity focus. With the most obvious being the complete overhaul to the 3-High identity, bringing a lot more variety as for what you can show vs. what you can do with them.

- New Mugged Fronts : New "Load DBL Mug" looks offer another layer of pressure/feigned pressure, to add alongside the various Single Mug, Load Mug, and traditional DBL Mug (A-Gap) looks that have already been in the game.

- New Play Tags : There are new play tags, insinuating new baked-in pre-snap disguises (ex: Show 1 & Show 3), rolled coverages (ex: Cover 2 Roll, Roll Cover 3 Cloud), and coverage specific tags like "MEG" (ex: Nickel Dog Meg), & "Lurk" (ex: Cover 2 Lurk).

- More Mixed Coverages : In addition to Cover 6 Willie & Bracket Switch Willie from last year, there's now Cover 9 Sammie & Bracket 9 Switch to add to the repertoire.

- More Press Coverages : No longer limited to mainly Cover 1 Robber Press and Cover 2 Man, a few more Cover 1 calls have press variants as well. Zone coverage received some press coverage love as well, with some more Press Cover 3 variants to go along with Press Quarters and various Press Zone Blitz calls. With the new WR/DB engagement mechanic, the Press Zone coverages actually jam/stab at the line of scrimmage and not just flip their hips and bail to their deep third. W

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CONS : Things that seem incomplete about the playbooks, that I'm hoping are just related to the beta like how the rosters are.

- Gameplan ; Depth : The whole focus on identity driven playbooks was great until I took a peek under the hood. The playbooks themselves are good, they vary in formation selection from one another enough to feel different and stand apart from each different iteration & variant of the same base. But the gameplans are barebones. Yes, the Man books focus on man coverages, Zone on zones, and Pressures have some blitzes mixed in, but they're extremely shallow & provide next-to-zero personnel matching.

- Gameplan ; Lack of Personnel Matching : Nickel situations I'll give some leeway, because an identity is an identity, and you want to stick with it so I understand that much. But all the playbooks' situations for "Dime", "Empty", "Trips", "Bunch" etc. are almost exclusively their base defense, being 4-3, 3-4, 3-3-5, & 4-2-5, which is a wild choice. So I'm hoping this is just the playbooks being undercooked beta versions, much like the roster is, because the playbooks have Nickel, Dime, & Dollar personnel within them, just not utilizing them.

- Gameplan ; Lack of Feigned Pressure : Again, this could all hopefully just tie back in to the fact the playbooks aren't at their release day ready state, but considering this was also an issue in last year's game, I'm hesitant. But across all 31 playbooks' gameplans, "Mug" fronts have a cumulative star rating of ZERO. Anytime a Mug fronted play is called by the CPU, is seemingly tied to complete randomness, as they're nowhere to be found in the gameplans. So for an "identity-driven" focus on defensive playbooks specifically, I hope this gets changed, the ultra aggressive & pressure heavy playbooks should absolutely be feigning pressure more consistently with all of these mugged fronts made available in-game.

Not sure if applicable to all teams, or if only applicable to teams that actually use them, but assigning captains places a C on the player's jersey finally. Just saw it whilst hastily simming through seasons with BYU. The QB has a C patch above his XII patch.