When the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Rams on Sunday, they’ll see a pair of former teammates who are thriving in Los Angeles.

Ex-Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon has started all six games for the Rams and played 94% of the defensive snaps for the Rams so far this year. He has two interceptions and has defended five passes.

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— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 8, 2023

Via ProFootball Focus, among players with at least 140 coverage snaps, Witherspoon is third in the NFL when it comes to passer rating against (38.8) and is third in percentage of targets caught at 39.3. Although he is only 36th in overall coverage grade at 63.7.

“He’s the vet in the room,” safety Russ Yeast said of Witherspoon last week via SI.com. “He has that leadership and experience for when things go bad, we go to him.”

Witherspoon signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers in March 2022. He started the first three games of last season before suffering a hamstring injury. Witherspoon missed seven of the next eight games before being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 3. He was released in May and signed with the Rams in late June.

As for former Steelers offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, he has performed well since being thrust into service in L.A. as well.

Alaric Jackson: 51.8 RBLK | 75.8 PBLKSteve Avila: 51.7 | 69.2Coleman Shelton: 57.3 | 77.4Kevin Dotson: 83.7 | 73.8Rob Havenstein: 84.1 | 74.9

10 total pressures. Dotson was the 2nd-highest graded offensive lineman in the NFL for the week.

— Blaine Grisak ???? (@bgrisakTST) October 16, 2023

Over three games (192 snaps), Dotson ranks second among guards in PFF overall blocking performance behind only Tyler Smith, with a blocking grade of 85.3. He’s graded as the third-best run blocker at 85.1 and the 18th-best pass blocker at 73.1.

“I thought he did a really good job,” coach Sean McVay said of Dotson after his first start Oct. 2. “I thought he played with physicality, thought he got good removal. … I thought he did a really nice job in protection and just straining to finish.”

His replacement in Pittsburgh, Isaac Seumalo, is rated 32nd overall (63.8), ninth in pass blocking (76.4) and 62nd in run blocking (57.4).

Dotson has allowed two sacks, but he has avoided drawing any penalties. That was a huge problem for him in Pittsburgh. He drew 12 flags in 2022, second most among guards in the NFL.

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On Aug. 27, the Steelers sent Dotson, a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2025 sixth-rounder to L.A., in exchange for a fourth-round selection in 2024 and a fifth in 2025. And in Pittsburgh, we all laughed at why the Rams would do that and wondered at how the “Khan artist,” Omar Khan, “swindled” Los Angeles in the deal.

Upon further review, maybe it wasn’t so funny.

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