It has been five years since EA Sports introduced the concept of "Player Traits" to the Madden NFL series in an effort to better differentiate how players perform on the field. At that time, Tim Tebow had just come off an improbable stretch of games as the Broncos' starting quarterback, culminating in an overtime playoff win.

The question was how to represent those players who find a way to step up late in games or in the postseason when the pressure is the highest.

The "Clutch" trait was meant to be the answer. Players who are designated as "clutch" receive ratings boosts in the final minutes of close games.

Madden developers give this trait only to a select few players. Last year, only 28 players were considered "clutch."

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Madden NFL 17 comes out Tuesday, and there appears to have been a shift in philosophy of what the definition of clutch means for the game — it includes 77 "clutch" players.

It's no longer only given to players who have stepped up in the playoffs — in fact, many of them haven't even appeared in a postseason game. Offensive and defensive linemen are not eligible for the trait. Here are all the game's "clutch" players.

* — Returning as "Clutch" from last year's game

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers

Cam Newton

Tom Brady*

Ben Roethlisberger*

Russell Wilson

Drew Brees*

Andrew Luck*

Tony Romo

Jameis Winston*

MORE: Top-rated QBs in Madden 17

Running Back

Le'Veon Bell

Adrian Peterson*

Jonathan Stewart

C.J. Anderson

MORE: Top-rated RBs in Madden 17

Wide Receiver

Antonio Brown

Julio Jones

Odell Beckham Jr.

A.J. Green

DeAndre Hopkins

Larry Fitzgerald*

Brandon Marshall

Dez Bryant

Julian Edelman

Jordy Nelson

Steve Smith*

Doug Baldwin

Emmanuel Sanders

Demaryius Thomas

MORE: Top-rated WRs in Madden 17

Tight End

Rob Gronkowski

Greg Olsen

Delanie Walker

Tyler Eifert

Jimmy Graham*

Jordan Reed

Jason Witten

Antonio Gates*

MORE: Top-rated TEs in Madden 17

Linebacker

Luke Kuechly

Von Miller

Justin Houston

Khalil Mack

Derrick Johnson*

Terrell Suggs

Brandon Marshall

Thomas Davis

Clay Matthews*

Sean Lee

Bobby Wagner

Navorro Bowman

Lavonte David

MORE: LBs to fear in Madden 17

Cornerback

Josh Norman

Richard Sherman

Darrelle Revis*

Vontae Davis

Patrick Peterson

Chris Harris Jr.

Malcolm Butler*

Safety

Tyrann Mathieu

Earl Thomas

Harrison Smith

Reshad Jones

Eric Berry

Eric Weddle*

Malcolm Jenkins

Devin McCourty

Kurt Coleman

T.J. Ward

Punter

Pat McAfee

Sam Koch

Dustin Colquitt

Chris Jones

Kicker

Graham Gano

Stephen Gostkowski

Dan Bailey

Steven Hauschka

Adam Vinatieri*

Josh Brown

Justin Tucker*

Roberto Aguayo

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There are still some examples of a lack of consistency in evaluating who should have the trait. Eli Manning lost the trait despite a pretty impressive track record of making big throws in the biggest moments. Joe Flacco, another Super Bowl-winning QB, also had it taken away. Jermaine Kearse wasn't made "clutch" despite having caught the game-winning TDs in both the 2014 and 2015 NFC championship games.

Meanwhile, there are several names on the list that would never come up in any discussion of the most clutch players in the league, and for the second straight year, a Buccaneers rookie (Aguayo) has inexplicably received the trait despite not having even played a professional snap.

"Madden NFL 17" features a brand new commentary team, new special moves for ball-carriers, considerable improvements to AI on defense and lots of overdue work to special teams. Rob Gronkowski is on the cover of the game releasing Aug. 23, but those with a subscription to EA Access on Xbox One can play for 10 hours right now. Amazon Prime members get 20 percent off orders for both the standard and deluxe editions.

Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the Press Row Podcast, and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.