Avengers Hold First Pick, but May Be Ready to Deal

The Los Angeles Avengers have the first pick in today’s Arena Football League expansion draft. The Avengers and the Carolina Cobras, preparing for their first seasons, will alternate selections in the 20-round draft.

Existing Arena teams can protect 16 players from their 40-man rosters.

There is a chance the Avengers will trade their first pick. Coach Stan Brock has already swapped seven picks for eight players and is seeking other deals.

“If this was a normal situation, with a whole off-season to recruit and sign players, we’d be shooting for a 50-50 breakdown of veterans to new players out of the draft,” Brock said.

“But because we’ve not had the opportunity for mini-camps or to go out and sign players, we’ve been using picks to trade for protected players. In [the draft], you’re getting a team’s 17th best player on [down]. If I can trade picks for a protected player, that is better.”

Brock has swapped his third-round pick to Nashville for quarterback Scott Semptimphelter, and also has traded his fifth-, ninth-, 10th-, 11th-, 15th- and 17th-round picks.

The Tampa Bay, Iowa and Buffalo teams will each receive picks as compensation for trades made with Detroit, which decided last week to sit out the 2000 season, so there are 44 picks overall.