The mechanics of the draft run smoothly. Access to available players, team-by-team draft results, the draft order, the top available players remaining, and so forth, is all a button-push away. There is a three-position timer available, so you can watch the picks fly by at a pace of your choosing. For you, however, there is no timer, so you can take as long as you like to sort through the available players and make a pick. Also, I should note, there is a representative amount of trading of picks amongst teams, which adds some drama to the proceedings.

I think EA needs to add a little more balance to the game for players who are interested in more than just joystick gymnastics. The game offers so much depth at the “front office” level, like setting ticket and concession prices, operating under the salary cap – including signing bonuses, hiring and firing coaches, restricted free agents, and so forth, yet skimps on some of the vital elements of the NFL fan's second season - the draft. The draft is an outright national event for football fans, many of whom have purchased magazines, subscribed to “insider” information on the web, and created their own mock draft lists and player rankings. Mel Kiper is a celebrity because of his passion for player evaluation and the NFL draft, and the entire two-day event is broadcast on ESPN. No other draft gets this kind of coverage. Honestly, the NFL draft is its own cottage industry! Madden should offer more to these kinds of fans. I'd rather have a more realistic picture of incoming players for the draft than the ability to set the prices of Italian sausages and chicken wings. It's my contention that attempting a game like NFL Head Coach wouldn't even be necessary if EA fleshed out some of the front office areas already present within Madden itself. Alas, they wouldn't make more money that way, though...