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The Cowboys wideout is one of the league’s best talents at the X position, blending size, speed and precision to leave defenders in despair.
CeeDee Lamb put his talents on display in 2023, finishing third in AP Offensive Player of the Year voting after collecting 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. Other campaigns of a similar quality could be on horizon for the Oklahoma alum, a talent that looks capable of striking down the most venerable Cowboys receiving records.
Lamb is a proven commodity at the NFL level. But as his star swells, many are left wondering just what his personal life looks like.
With that, here’s what you need to know about Lamb’s family history, genealogy heavily influenced by America’s Game.
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CeeDee Lamb dad: Cliff Lamb
Lamb’s father is Cliff Lamb. He played football at MidAmerica Nazerene, a Division II side out of Olathe, Kansas. Cliff came from a football family; his brother, Adam, shined at Texas Southern.
Cliff and Adam got a firsthand look at CeeDee’s burgeoning skillset, seeing hints of his talent as a tot. They remember when he caught a pass one-handed while cratering towards the sideline at five years old.
Cliff and Lamb’s mother, Leta Ramirez, divorced when CeeDee was nine years old. He’d occasionally stay with his Pop Warner coach, Darrick Reed, during football season.
“It didn’t take long to see he was a special kid,” Reed told OU Daily in 2019. “It was clear from a young age we would be watching him on Saturdays and Sundays.”
Cliff expressed delight when CeeDee was taken No. 17 overall by Dallas in the 2020 NFL Draft.
“Went to college in Oklahoma, grew up in Houston, what better fan base? All my fans are around. Dallas is my new home. No better place than Jerry World,” Cliff Lamb told NBC 5 in 2020.
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CeeDee Lamb mom: Leta Ramirez
Lamb’s mother is Leta Ramirez. She’d drive her son 45 miles one way to get to practice on weekdays growing up, rumbling down I-69 in her 2007 Chevy Tahoe. CeeDee sat in the backseat, scribbling away at homework while readying his equipment.
Much like her ex-husband, Ramirez was privy to her son’s gifts. Lamb’s youth team, the Richmond Hurricanes, were one of Houston’s best. If the commute was going to give CeeDee a better chance at reaching his goals as an athlete, it was worth it.
“It was a struggle,” Ramirez said. “But when you have the chance to better one of your kids’ lives, you do it.”
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Life wasn’t easy for the family when Lamb was growing up. Ramirez’s husband — and Lamb’s stepdad — Samuel Moreno Jr. — was gunned down when Lamb was 14. Lamb lost his uncle, Chester Ramirez Jr., when he was 17.
“They all shared a special bond,” Cliff Lamb said. “As a father, you teach your kids to love and respect everyone. So when you lose loved ones like that, it hits you hard … I think it made him a little tough-skinned. There aren’t many 20-some-year-olds that have experienced that much pain.”
Lamb turned to the gridiron for a reprieve. His mother has watched on in the concourses in the years since, even garnering headlines of her own in 2024 after lambasting Dallas QB Dak Prescott following the Cowboys’ wild-card loss to the Packers.
“DAK ISN’T IT!!!” Ramirez wrote on Facebook. “They need to get rid of his a**!”
Lamb confirmed he and Prescott had no beef during a guest appearance on Micah Parsons’ “The Edge” podcast shortly thereafter.
“Let’s get the elephant out of the room … I know what my mom said,” Lamb said. “Once again, and I’m gonna repeat this … NO! I have no beef with my quarterback! I love my dawg [Prescott.] He knows that.”
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CeeDee Lamb brothers
Lamb has two brothers: Christian Lamb and Taribbean Ramirez.
Christian Lamb
Christian Lamb is CeeDee Lamb’s younger brother. He also was granted inside access into CeeDee’s gridiron development, citing his junior campaign at Foster High School as the year when CeeDee became a local celebrity.
CeeDee continues to jet-set across the country, dazzling audiences with his pass-catching exploits for America’s Team. Yet, to Christian, CeeDee is the same older brother that inspired him throughout his childhood.
“I miss having him around,” Christian Lamb said. “He’s my big bro. He’s got connections just like that. What he do I do. What I do he do. It just runs in the family.”
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Taribbean Ramirez
Taribbean Ramirez is CeeDee Lamb’s younger brother. He’s also a wide receiver, turning out for Navarro College and Sul Ross State. He doesn’t possess the same frame as his older brother — he’s 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. But he’s a handful in open space.
Taribbean Ramirez scored a TD on Friday night that we think his big brother would approve of …@_Taribbean @SoonerScoop @fosterfootball @_CeeDeeThree
🎥: @samspiegs pic.twitter.com/VofxMQqaQC
— Rivals High School (@Rivals_HS) November 14, 2020
Still Looking For a Home🕺🏾#Jucoproduct @JucoFrenzy pic.twitter.com/q5bypwfwCu
— TRIB (@_Taribbean) July 24, 2023
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CeeDee Lamb sisters: Andres and Brianna
Lamb has two younger sisters: Andres and Brianna Lamb. Not much is known about either sister’s lives or relationships with their eldest sibling.
CeeDee Lamb cousin: Keon Coleman
CeeDee Lamb’s cousin is Keon Coleman, the Bills wide receiver revealed in 2024. Both wideouts were born in Opelousas, Louis., an apparent coincidence — until it wasn’t.
Lamb disclosed the familial connection during an interview at the 2024 NFL Draft Combine. Predictably, he’d like to share the field with Lamb at some point in his career.
“Playing with CeeDee Lamb. That would be a dream come true. That’s actually my cousin. That would be great. I worked out with him. He has a very elusive game. I feel like he can do some of the things I can do,” Coleman said. “He has a little extra sauce to his game. I would love to play with him some day.”
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The duo worked out together shortly after Coleman was selected No. 22 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, so their relationship seems to be blossoming.
CeeDee Lamb uncle: Chester Ramirez Jr.
Lamb’s uncle was Chester Ramirez Jr. He played football at Air Force before embarking on a career as an inspector at chemical plants. Chester Ramirez’s work would take him across the world. Yet, there was nowhere he’d rather be than in Channelview, Texas, tending to Lamb and his siblings’ needs when Cliff and Leta were working.
“We just clicked at a different level,” CeeDee Lamb told The Oklahoman in 2019. “He was like a father figure to me.”
Chester and CeeDee bonded over football, pouring over the Xs and Os and the finer points of route-running and releases.
“Man, he loved the game of football,” Lamb said. “Growing up that’s all I really ever knew. I would ask him questions. I fell in love with the game and took every little thing that he told me and ran with it.”
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Chester Ramirez died suddenly in 2016, struck down by natural causes while on a work trip in China. He was 42 years old.
“CeeDee didn’t take it well,” Leta Ramirez said. “It really bothered him a lot. What really bothers him still is that my brother was always there in the stands for football. (CeeDee) still looks constantly for that image, but of course he’s not there. He’s emotional every game. He doesn’t show it, but I know it. He’s my son.”
He honored his beloved uncle by sporting No. 3 in high school and No. 2 in college. Chester donned No. 32 throughout his football career.
Lamb also has a No. 32 chain, designed by Houston-based jeweler Leo Frost.
“I don’t go anywhere without it,” Lamb said.
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Where is CeeDee Lamb from?
Lamb was born in Opelousas and raised in New Orleans until 2005, when he and his family evacuated to Houston during Hurricane Katrina. He attended Foster High School in Richmond, Texas, sharing the field with future CFLer Jacob Brammer.
Lamb dreamed of playing for LSU as a child, he told The Oklahoman in 2019. But an offer from the Tigers didn’t materialize until after he committed to OU. Lamb left the door open for the Tigers, even decommitting from the Sooners to potentially facilitate a move. But LSU was without a permanent head coach following Les Miles’ dismissal. Lamb opted to stay in Norman.
“The one that got away,” former LSU coach Ed Orgeron said.
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