Record number of DBs drafted in first round as teams look to emulate the Champs

If the NFL is a "copycat league," then right now that makes the Seattle Seahawks the ultimate, most badass, fearsome, champion, warmongering kitty kitty. A dominating Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos drove home that the Seahawks are the model franchise right now and other teams are going to try and emulate what they are doing. It's not like that same copycat mentality hasn't helped Seattle get what they are, if you consider that their pass-rushers resemble a NASCAR front (Giants) and their drafting strategy is straight-up Belichickian.

In the case of the 2013 Seahawks and what it means in terms of copying them, there's one thing that stands out above all. But rather then tell you, why don't I sing it to you....

I want my defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back

I want my defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back defensive back

Peteeeey's Legion of Boom. Petey's Legion of Boom

and Byron-Q sauce

While living in an outbreak of passing, Seattle didn't back the disease, they looked for the antidote. They didn't, for one, welcome our Peyton Manning overlords. When the exploding offenses formed, the Seahawks fought back. And now other teams are starting to take the hint.

On Thursday, nine defensive backs went in the first round of the NFL draft. Including:

- The Jets took safety Calvin Pryor. In his second year as GM, John Idzik (who you remember was hired away from Seattle's front office) has drafted two defensive backs in the first round (Dee Milliner, ninth overall in 2013.)

- The Broncos, surely still sore from the Super Bowl, took cornerback Bradley Roby. Sure they lost a couple cornerbacks, but they also signed Aqib Talib to a $57 million contract and had Chris Harris. Was it their biggest need?

- The 49ers, knowing that they'll never measure up to what Seattle has (but always itching to try), took S/CB Jimmie Ward. For now he'll be a nickel corner, but they expect him to take over for Antoine Bethea in the future. That's now two years in a row that San Francisco has drafted a safety in the first round.

Hmm, Seahawks got both of their champion safeties in one year, but only had to spend a fifth on Kam.

- The Cardinals, realizing that 10 wins doesn't work when you're in the same division as Seattle, took safety Deone Bucannon out of Washington State. (Stay out of my territory. JESSE!) Arizona drafted Tyrann Mathieu in the third round last season, Patrick Peterson in 2011, and signed Antonio Cromartie in free agency this year.

- The Packers, needing someone to do a better job of stopping the Seahawks from clearly winning on a game-winning touchdown that's clear as day, drafted safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix out of Alabama on Thursday.

- Other teams to draft a defensive back in the first round this year: Browns, Bengals, Chargers, Bears.

The nine DBs selected in round one is a record, and it's two more than the previous high of seven. That's been done three times, including in 1998, 2006, and... 2013. So in the time that people could start to recognize that the Seahawks were building something interesting with their secondary, and that passing records were being broken all over, 16 defensive backs have been taken in the first round.

The second round kicks off on ThursFriday, and what could you possibly expect from the secondary prospects? Well last year, after seven went in the first, six more went in the second. That includes the Jaguars taking safety Jonathan Cyprien with the first pick of the second round. It includes the Buccaneers taking Johnthan Banks, even after using their first round pick to acquire Darrelle Revis. And the Falcons took corner Robert Alfrod, even after taking corner Desmond Trufant in the first.

More prospects in the secondary are still around for second round picks, including safeties Terrence Brooks, Brock Vereen, and Dion Bailey, plus corners Phillip Gaines, Lamarcus Joyner, Bashaud Breeland, Marcus Roberson, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, and Keith McGill per Derek Stephens big board.

So while a run on defensive backs in the draft (and a high price tag in free agency) certainly seems to suggest that teams are trying emulate Seattle's success over the last two years, there's still one area that other teams don't seem to know how to copy:

The Seahawks only spent one pick higher than a fourth rounder to build the best secondary in history.

Byron-Q sauce