Not sure the overall rating is the hill you want to die on as it's practically meaningless and is only given context once you've actually dove into what makes it so high or low and even then you'd have to pick out which stats affect it the most. Do I think it's ridiculous that a 55 overall character is a top 5 pick? Compared to other draft picks I would say yes but your overall is not what determines your draft position in MyCareer, your performance does. Though I do agree with you on one point it's pretty expensive to upgrade your Player this year.
Also practicing and filling up your "Doin' Work" meter which then contributes to the yellow upgrade meter realy only adds a point to how many upgrades you have left to spend. The +1's you get in practice for seeminly random attributes also don't seem to stick, not really sure if it's a bug or intentional; If it's the former, they need to fix that real quick but if it's the latter it's the dumbest and most pointless "mechanic" in the game.