Fantasy Football Week 16: Biggest Takeaways from Sunday

There is nothing more savory than winning a championship. Doing it with a near-perfect finish can make it even sweeter, though.

There are still fantasy points on the board Monday night between the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals players, but Bleacher Report breaks down the five biggest takeaways from Sunday. Some of these might have already cemented things for owners.

These five, Odell Beckham, DeMarco Murray, Marshawn Lynch, Ryan Tannehill and Jason Witten, proved to be brilliant finishers. We break down how it unfolded for them and what it means to their future value for 2015 in fantasy circles.

Lucky No. 13 Comes Through

If there is one thing that can inflate fantasy value, it has to be coming through in fantasy championships. New York Giants rookie Odell Beckham Jr. has earned himself a lot of long-term fans.

Beckham completed one of the most surprising and dominant stretches for a fantasy receiver, nevermind a rookie one. He ripped off another eight catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder to lead fantasy wideouts in CBSSports.com standard scoring for the second consecutive Sunday.

He is the first rookie in league history with at least 130 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in three consecutive games—per the NFL—all fantasy postseason games, mind you.

Expect a lot of fantasy winnings to be spent on Beckham's lucky No. 13 jerseys.

It is going to be a lot tougher for those fantasy owners to get Beckham back on their team next season. You will have to draft him among the top five fantasy wideouts most likely (second-round pick). That's a high price to pay for a second-year receiver, even if this is the most exciting rookie wideout since Randy Moss.

Beckham not only added to his fantasy lore, but he continues to set records. His 79 receptions are the most in NFL history for a player in his first 11 career games, according to the above NFL link. Remember, Beckham missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury.

Here is what this means for Beckham next year: You can make a case for him being the No. 1 fantasy wideout. We cautiously rank him No. 4 in our early projection of the top 10 wide receivers for fantasy 2015:

1. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
2. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
4. Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
5. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
6. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
7. Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns
8. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
9. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
10. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

Ride 'Em Cowboy

That sigh of a relief you hear is from the DeMarco Murray (hand) owners. The No. 1 running back came through to play just days after hand surgery. Now, that is how to cement your fantasy MVP status.

Murray might have been limited in the passing game—he did not record a reception—but he wasn't limited by the Indianapolis Colts' run defense. He rushed 22 times for 58 yards and a touchdown.

That was about as much as you should have expected under the circumstances.

Perhaps more legendarily, it left him just 29 yards shy of breaking Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith's Dallas Cowboys single-season rushing record, according to The Dallas Morning News. Murray has 1,745 rushing yards; Smith had 1,773 in 1995.

Count head coach Jason Garrett thoroughly impressed by Murray's clutch and gutsy performance. He told The News' Brandon George:

"

This day with DeMarco Murray is going to be one that I’ll never forget. The mindset and mentality that he had, starting in the locker room last week, on the plane ride, when I saw him the next day, after the surgery—he just didn’t waver: 'I'm playing, coach. Coach, I'm playing.' It was with a look that was so determined that its impact on our team was so strong. It's not easy to do what he did. It was pretty darn special.

"

His fantasy owners won't forget it either. He came through for them despite the pain, as he told George:

"

It affected me. It was hurting throughout the game, but I made my mind up a long time ago that I was going to play, so I was happy to be out there, happy to be able to do whatever I can to contribute to this team. It was awesome with the win.

"

We consider this one of the reasons Murray has earned No. 1 overall status for fantasy 2015. If we had to draft right now, here is how we would slot Round 1:

1. RB DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
2. RB Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
3. RB Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
4. RB Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs
5. RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
6. RB Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
7. RB LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles
8. WR Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
9. QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
10. WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
11. QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
12. TE Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

Beast Mode Carries the Night

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

We have to admit: We did not have Marshawn Lynch in that projection of 2015's first round initially. We don't like the fact he will be 29 next season and has been a problem child who could up and quit any given day.

Watching the Seattle Seahawks' Sunday night victory over the Arizona Cardinals changed our mind in a hurry. The longest touchdown run of Lynch's career, 79 yards, was a picture-perfect display of what Beast Mode is, in case you were wondering.

Lynch trumped the equally ageless Frank Gore as the highest-scoring fantasy running back with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns over a very good Cardinals run defense that came into the week No. 2 in fantasy against running backs, per FFToday.com. Lynch just cannot retire at the top of his game like this, can he?

Fantasy owners love the way Lynch finishes runs, which is why they will pick him in the top five next year. They really love how he finished off their fantasy championship.

Tannehill, Dolphins Secure Their Future

If you were asked before the season—or even in the early going—which of Jay Cutler or Ryan Tannehill would be more likely to remain his team's quarterback after the season, you would have had an overwhelming majority picking Cutler over Tannehill. Week 16 certainly made that notion look silly.

While journeyman quarterback Jimmy Clausen was making the Chicago Bears question Cutler's future, Tannehill was busy cementing his and that of his coach, Joe Philbin, with the Miami Dolphins. Tannehill posted 396 yards and a career-best four touchdowns, giving his fantasy owners one huge message for 2015: This is a fantasy starting quarterback.

Tannehill has developed a rapport with Mike Wallace finally and has a budding young receiving threat in Jarvis Landry. That makes Tannehill a superb sleeper in drafts next August. Lamar Miller was good in the running game too. This Dolphins offense—and team—has its arrow pointing up.

Tannehill told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald:

"

I come into every game expecting to move the ball. Especially in the second half, guys really made plays. You see guys making huge catches, huge runs after they catch the ball; getting open and the offensive line was dong a great job of letting me go through my reads. That's what we can do. Whenever you put the whole picture together, that's offense.

"

The performance has vaulted Tannehill in fantasy-starter status for next year. That will make him a favorite of those drafters who buy heavily in the strategy of waiting to select their quarterback.

Witten Finally Shows Up

So much for Jason Witten's naysayers. The veteran has mostly been a non-factor in fantasy leagues, but he conveniently saved his best for last.

Witten put up a season-best 7-90-1 line for fantasy owners, proving he can still be counted on for starter-quality numbers at the always shaky tight end position. Witten's consistency should count for something.

Ask those Luke Willson owners who bank on him in Week 17. The Seahawks' surprising star Sunday night (3-139-2) rose from a mere 2.5 percent ownership in ESPN.com leagues to being the highest-scoring tight end in fantasy championship week. He is more likely to post a zero next week than impact any leagues.

But, the Cowboys' Witten is always there and active, even if he isn't dominant. The best news for Witten fans is his disappointing season should allow him to be one of the last starting-caliber tight ends off the board next August. He is consistent and affordable, two very much-needed fantasy traits.

Follow @EricMackFantasy

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.