That makes more sense. They can do deposits earlier for non declared options but they never have to my knowledge. Historically they've held back at the 11 & 7 month window in favor of current owners making a reservation, as it should be in my opinion.
I'm sure Dean is right about this. DVC could deposit whenever an owner made a deposit to RCI for an exchange booking.
When we talk about DVC deposits into RCI at 5-7 months from arrival, we are talking about BULK deposits -- situations where they deposit multiple available units in a very short period of time (often on the same day). That's when most of the ongoing searches will get fulfilled, but it's not the only time.