Bills WR Keon Coleman explains how he's related to Ceedee Lamb

In a 2024 NFL Draft class that prominently featured the children of Hall of Fame wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice, it’s a different pass catcher bloodline that has most significantly piqued the interest of Buffalo Bills fans. Wideout Keon Coleman—who was selected by the Bills with the 33rd overall pick in the draft—learned during the draft process that he is cousins with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb, a reigning first-team All-Pro who, like Coleman, was born in Opelousas, LA.

Lamb, however, did not grow up in the small city of some 16,000 residents; the current Cowboy was raised in New Orleans until his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, prompting them to move to Houston, TX. It wasn’t until several years after their childhoods that Lamb and Coleman learned of their shared hometown and heritage, with the prospect revealing their shared bloodline during his pre-draft visit to Dallas.

Coleman spoke further about his relationship with Lamb during a recent appearance on the RG3 and The Ones podcast, stating that he and the three-time Pro Bowler are related by blood as opposed to close familial ties.

“I don’t claim just Louisiana cousins,” Coleman said. “His grandfather and my great-grandmother, they’re first cousins. We just found it out. Louisiana is a small place, and everybody from Louisiana—if they’re in Texas, their people come from Louisiana, for the most part.”

The relatives have had the opportunity to train with one another in the past, but the interactions have been otherwise few and far between given their respective schedules.

“We’ve trained a few different times, but we’re both busy,” Coleman said. “I had the predraft process and the end of my season, and he had the great year that he had, so a lot’s going on.”

Bills fans hope that Coleman will impact the Buffalo offense in a manner similar to his cousin’s effect on the Dallas attack. The 6-foot-3 big-bodied pass catcher figures to play a prominent role in the Bills’ offense early given his draft capital and the offseason departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis; general manager Brandon Beane has already indicated that the rookie, who caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Florida State Seminoles last season, will likely serve as Buffalo’s primary boundary receiver in the 2024 NFL season.

And perhaps Coleman will one day be able to organize a family reunion, as he previously stated that he would “love to play with [Lamb] one day;” for the sake of the Buffalo faithful, let’s hope the reunion happens in Orchard Park as opposed to Arlington.