I was wondering just how sophisticated the AI is. Is it 'smart' enough to learn or is it just designed to follow strict parameters?

For instance is a draft pool created randomly or does the amount of players at specific positions vary wildly from year to year. Does the player ratings of the top 30 players by position have an effect on the style of player created? If so do rookies evolve by generation to become bigger, faster and stronger?

No, the player creation tool is simply using uniform distribution random generation.