I wonder how they figure out the 85 - is it first come first serve? Feel like it would have to be, I don't think they would bump a guy because he's down on the depth chart and a starter signs up. But it's clearly not limited to scholarship guys which is interesting. Most teams won't have the same degree of this problem, but we have ~45 guys not on the 85 and most of them would jump at the chance to be included in the game. Like no offense to Derek Branch, but if he's in the game and Marques Buford isn't because he was the 86th guy to try and opt in that's not great for the consumer.
Sticking with 85 man rosters is kinda dumb IMO anyway - I don't need complete realism in roster management, but it seems like implementing walk-ons would not be difficult. Instead of only getting walk-ons when you don't have enough players at a position (and them counting against your 85), you should also get a set number of walk-ons based on prestige level (who do not count against the 85). If they hit a certain overall or play more than a handful of snaps, you can either add them to the 85 or they'll transfer. Have a very low but non-zero chance of a generated walk-on actually being a decent player and/or developing super quickly.