In the first seven years under Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider, the Seattle Seahawks drafted just one defensive back in the first three rounds. That was safety Earl Thomas (first round, 2010).

But the secondary was a major theme in this year's draft. The Seahawks selected Central Florida cornerback Shaquill Griffin in the third round (90th overall) and Michigan safety Delano Hill five picks later. Other than Thomas, that represented the most draft capital used on defensive backs in the past eight years.

In the fourth round, the Seahawks added Colorado free safety Tedric Thompson. And in the sixth, they went with Cincinnati defensive back Mike Tyson.

The selections are particularly fascinating this year. Cornerback Richard Sherman is 29 and was the subject of trade talks for much of the offseason. Strong safety Kam Chancellor is also 29 and entering the final year of his contract. And even Thomas (28) said he contemplated retirement after suffering a season-ending leg injury last year.

During an interview on the "Brock and Salk" show on 710 ESPN Seattle last week, Carroll was asked whether the defensive back selections were made with the present or the future in mind.

"Sometimes there’s opportunities where guys come to you and you just have such a good chance even though you have another good player at that same position, it’s rare that you would get a guy like that at that level. And we take them," Carroll said. "And then there’s other times where we go into the draft with concerns and things we’d like to address. And if we can, we do.

"We’re not just drafting for the future. We’re not just drafting for right now. We take all the elements that are offered and all of the considerations, and then we put it all together."

When Schneider spoke about the possibility of trading Sherman earlier this offseason, one of the things he mentioned was getting younger on defense. And it's fair to project that at some point in the next few years, Sherman, Chancellor and Thomas could see a drop-off in their respective performances.

But it's also worth noting that all three players played at a high level in 2016. From Weeks 1 through 11, Seattle ranked fifth in pass defense, per Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. From Weeks 12 through 17, after Thomas went down, the Seahawks ranked 30th.

Carroll's entire program is based on competition. It's common for him to advise players to train hard after the season is over because there will be new guys looking to take their jobs. It's a feeling of discomfort that Carroll believes is healthy.

Still, barring an injury to Sherman, Thomas or Chancellor (three of the original members of the Legion of Boom), it's tough to envision a scenario in which a rookie would push any of them for playing time in 2017.

More likely, next offseason could be the one of transition.

"This was a very strong draft in the DB section, so it just kind of happened that we had opportunities to get guys," Carroll said. "We may put together one of the great backup groups you’ve ever seen. And that may be what this is for the future. That would be a great thing that happens.

"We love the guys that we play with. But meanwhile, we’re going to allow these guys to compete to start. And that pushes Earl. And it pushes Kam. And it pushes [Sherman] and everybody. And that’s how that goes. And they know that. This whole program was built on competition, and they expect that to happen. People don’t really like that. That’s just the way it is. So we didn’t set out to try to redo the secondary right now or for the future. We just had an opportunity to get some great players that can add to this team and make us more competitive."