There are a lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball for Duke.

Defense is the side of the ball with fewer returning starters and more newcomers in key roles, though, which makes this — if you ask me — the more-intriguing forecast of how the Blue Devils will play.

Duke doesn’t permit depth-chart reporting … so this is a little something different. Think of it as an ode to former Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins’ “Above The Line” charts, which listed players who could play at each position in lieu of a depth chart.

Here’s how Duke’s defense will line up this season:

Need to see more from: Vincent Anthony Jr., R.J. Oben.

Situational/rotation: Anthony Nelson, Ryan Smith.

Preseason hype train: Wesley Williams.

Explained: Duke’s 36 sacks last season were 15 more than the Blue Devils had in the previous season, which is one of the key stats that helps explain the six-win improvement.

Only seven of those sacks came from defensive ends.

That’s part of what makes this position so interesting heading into the season. Both starters, Anthony and Oben, return. Oben had 4½ sacks last season and is entering his final season; Anthony played in all 13 games as a freshman and showed promise at times, but needed to bulk up and find some consistency.

It’s tough to evaluate too much on the defensive line in fall camp, especially when it comes to sacks and pressures, because the quarterbacks can’t be hit. The bet here would be on Oben increasing his production slightly. Anthony was listed at 6-6, 240 last year and is up to 246 pounds this season.

Nelson, a grad transfer from Harvard, helped in the rotation last season. Smith is a special teams standout who’s bound to get a few chances in the defensive line rotation.

Williams was always on the tip of a teammate or staffer’s tongue when asked for an off-the-radar player to keep an eye on this season. The 6-3, 278-pounder was only on the field for one game last season and redshirted; he’ll get a chance early to prove the preseason praising correct.

All-ACC caliber: DeWayne Carter.

As solid as it gets: Ja’Mion Franklin.

Ready for larger role: Aeneas Peebles.

Maybe ready: Aaron Hall.

Freshmen to know: Desmond Aladuge, David Anderson, Terry Simmons Jr.

Explained: Kind of similar start for this position as the one for quarterback in the offensive projection.

Carter is everything you want in a defensive tackle. He’s stout against the run and his penetration really shines as a pass-rusher. Franklin is an excellent complement to him as a 6-2, 309-pound run-stuffer.

Carter and Franklin are bound to be on the field for as many snaps as their bodies allow. Last year, Carter played 70.6% of Duke’s defensive snaps; Franklin played 56.3% (per Pro Football Focus).

And that’s where this thing gets tricky.

Peebles is primed for a larger role. The 6-1, 286-pounder is entering his fourth year in the program and has 44 tackles in 35 career games. Hall is a year younger and much less experienced, having switched to tackle from defensive end in the spring.

Duke will squeeze what it can from its freshmen. Aladuge came in as a defensive end but has been taking snaps on the interior; Anderson has emerged as an option to play above the four-game maximum; and Simmons is big and talented enough to be intriguing despite not participating in fall camp because of a leg injury.

Bonus year starter: Cam Dillon.

If healthy, can be good: Dorian Mausi.

Primed for increased roles: Tre Freeman, Nick Morris Jr.

Explained: In the interest of full disclosure … I’m not quite sure what to expect from this position.

Duke knows what it has in Dillon; a veteran, rangy linebacker who showed skill as both a pass-rusher and in coverage last season. That was as a part-time starter, though, as he played half of Duke’s defensive snaps. It’s fair to have a question or two about how he’ll hold up for a full season as the Blue Devils’ top linebacker.

Which makes the development of the other three linebackers all the more important.

With Mausi, it’s first and foremost a matter of health. He was limited by a neck injury and played 406 snaps, which was 325 fewer snaps than he played in 2021.

Freeman has been trending upward and I think can emerge as a decent linebacker. He flashed in the spring game in 2022 and that didn’t materialize much for last season, but he had a strong Military Bowl when Shaka Heyward didn’t play and sometimes players arrive a year later than you think they will.

Morris has garnered some preseason praise from defensive coaches that leads you to believe the third-year player will factor into the rotation.

If he’s not at safety: Brandon Johnson.

Contingent on the above: Chandler Rivers.

Could be an option: Cameron Bergeron.

Explained: At risk of becoming a broken record, just go here for a breakdown of the nickel position and the versatility Duke’s secondary has with Johnson and Rivers.

And this is a reminder of how valuable Johnson is to Duke’s success this season.

Johnson was a revelation last season, putting together an All-ACC-caliber season in his first significant experience. Instead of simply asking him to repeat his all-around stellar numbers, Duke will have him bounce between nickel and safety.

That means Rivers will slide over from cornerback occasionally, and it means Bergeron needs to be ready if either one goes down.

Elder statesmen: Al Blades Jr., Myles Jones.

Bound to play often: Joshua Pickett, Chandler Rivers.

Freshmen to know for next year (and maybe this one): Moussa Kane, Kimari Robinson.

Explained: Everybody these days wants long, athletic cornerbacks; Duke went out and found two of them in the portal.

Blades (6-1, 195) and Jones (6-4, 194) look the part of NFL corners because, well, they’re old enough to be such. Blades spent five seasons at Miami, while Jones was at Texas A&M for six.

By the second or third open practice to the media, it was clear that they were the two best cornerbacks on the roster.

That’s not to say Pickett and Rivers won’t contribute. Duke will look for rotations at every position and cornerback is no exception. Neither is as big as the transfers; both showed last season they can handle the rigors of matching up against ACC receivers.

The additions of Blades and Jones for this season means Duke isn’t counting on Kane or Robinson to be ready right away. Barring that top quartet stays healthy, you’re unlikely to see Kane or Robinson burn their redshirts.

But the freshmen showed some playmaking ability in fall camp and, because Blades and Jones are in their final seasons of eligibility, they’re going to be counted on next season (at the latest).

Mr. Reliable: Jaylen Stinson.

Safety net: Brandon Johnson.

Not-so-newcomers: Jeremiah Lewis, Terry Moore.

Future intrigue: Leon Griffin III, DaShawn Stone.

Explained: While there’s no depth-chart reporting … you can bank on Stinson being out there, right?

Duke’s top returning tackler (74), the only Blue Devil on the field for more snaps than Stinson last season was fellow safety Darius Joiner. What the 5-8, 177-pounder lacks in size, Stinson makes up for in speed — which makes him a valuable kick returner, too.

It’s the other position, where Joiner was, that gets tricky. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing for Duke.

Johnson is an option to drop off of nickel and play deeper. He prefers it that way — allows him to show some versatility — and if the staff is comfortable about moving him out of the run box, you should be, too.

Lewis has newcomer-but-not-really status because he transferred in between the coaching change in 2021 and spent last season at Northwestern. He’s back at Duke for his final season of eligibility and even though he returned on the eve of fall camp, Lewis was getting up to speed.

That status applies to Moore because he was playing running back a year ago. The second-year player came to Duke as a two-way standout and after a year of offense, approached the staff about a change to the other side and has been working there since the spring.