Seahawks evaluators have eyes on a few position battles in Chargers preseason game

If you like omens, here’s one to hearten Seahawks fans: The last time Seattle opened the preseason against the Chargers on the road the team went on to win the Super Bowl.

Of course, the Chargers were in San Diego in 2013. This year’s preseason opener, which kicks off Sunday at 5 p.m., will instead be at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, the Chargers’ home for the next three years until they move into a new stadium in Inglewood.

While the game will mark the beginning of a new era for the Los Angeles Chargers, it will also mark a shifting in the player evaluation for the Seahawks coaches and general manager John Schneider, who by the end of the month will have to pare the 90-man training-camp roster down to the regular-season limit of 53.

Coach Pete Carroll said this week he expects that job to be harder this year, thanks to a roster that he thinks is better from top to bottom than the last few seasons.

“John and I have been looking at it for a long time as we’re coming into camp and thinking we have a chance to have one of the best we’ve had, indicated by the competition of the spots,” Carroll said. “You can see it. There’s a number of guys that have playability that we’re going to have to sort out. There’s competitive opportunities for guys to make space for themselves, too, and all that adds to making us better and so we’re really fired up about that.”

While there are any number of players who will be intriguing to watch, here are some to keep a particularly close eye on:

CB Shaquill Griffin: The third-round pick has been a camp standout the past week as he has filled in as the starting right cornerback with veteran Jeremy Lane out with an injury. And with Lane still out against the Chargers, Griffin will get the start. Carroll had portrayed Lane as the leader for that job before his injury. But if Griffin can translate his play in practice onto the field, the team could have a tough decision on its hands.

RB Chris Carson: The seventh-round pick has been another camp standout. Carson might be battling Alex Collins for a final spot on the roster at tailback, depending on how many the team decides to keep.

Tackles George Fant and Germain Ifedi: The Seahawks seem ready to hand their starting tackle jobs to the two second-year players, especially Fant, who has drawn raves throughout the preseason. Carroll said Ifedi had his two best days of practice this week, and the team undoubtedly will give him every chance to hold off Ethan Pocic for the right-tackle job if for no other reason than his status as a first-round pick in 2016. The Seahawks aren’t likely change their minds based on one game. But they’d love to see Fant and Ifedi at least hold their own against San Diego’s vaunted pass rush.

QB Trevone Boykin: Boykin has to fend off veteran Austin Davis to keep the job, with Carroll this week indicating that at the moment it’s a dead heat. Expect Boykin to follow starter Russell Wilson, which would mean playing with the second-unit offense and also going against what would likely be a better Chargers defense. Boykin has been inconsistent in camp but had some of his better practices this week, and the team will want that trend to continue.