As a new year begins, the 2016 fantasy football season draws to a close.
As we do each Sunday right here, we recap the week's winners and losers from a fantasy perspective, complete with applicable game and historical data. Check back after the conclusion of the 1 and 4 p.m. ET (and, when applicable, Sunday Night Football) games for our picks of the week's best and worst.
In addition, check back on Wednesday for a 2016 season in review Winners and Losers, which highlights the year's top stories.
Winners
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: He punctuated a remarkable season with a 29 point fantasy effort on Sunday, second-most among all players. For Ryan, it was his second-highest score of 2016 (35, Week 4) and tied for the fifth-best single-game performance of his nine-year NFL career. It gave him 334 fantasy points for the season, shattering his previous single-season high and giving him the No. 2 finish among all players behind only Aaron Rodgers (365).
Ryan surely won a good number of his fantasy owners league titles with his outstanding season, as he was active in at least 62.5 percent of ESPN leagues in all four of the traditional playoff weeks (Weeks 14-17), concluding with his 82.5 start percentage on Sunday, which was third-highest among quarterbacks. He was the quarterback most commonly found on ESPN playoff teams (59.5 percent of leagues) as well as finalist teams (36.3 percent).
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers: For the second consecutive week, Rodgers reached the 30-point fantasy threshold, giving him 16 such games in his career. Only four players in history have had more: Drew Brees, 20; LaDainian Tomlinson, 20; Marshall Faulk, 18; and Jim Brown, 17. Rodgers' 34 fantasy points led all players on Sunday, giving him a second consecutive week in the league's lead.
Rodgers finished the 2016 season with 365 fantasy points, 20 shy of his career high of 385 set in 2013. It tied him for the seventh-best point total at any position in league history.
Rex Burkhead, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Granted an opportunity to start because Jeremy Hill (knee) was inactive, Burkhead exploded for 25 fantasy points, tying with two other players for the lead during the 1 p.m. ET block. It not only helped him set a new personal best, but in fact doubled his seasonal total for fantasy points as he had 25 entering Sunday's action. Burkhead actually became only the third player this century to manage that many fantasy points making his first career NFL start in his team's final game of the season; Pierre Thomas had 30 fantasy points in 2007 Week 17, and Arian Foster had 25 in 2009 Week 17.
Only a handful of fantasy owners were attentive -- plus bold -- enough to scoop up and start Burkhead: He was owned in 9.71 percent and started in 4.91 percent of ESPN leagues.
Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles: One of the three players to tie for the lead during the 1 p.m. ET block with 25 fantasy points, Ertz destroyed his previous career career high in the category; he also set a new mark with 38 using PPR scoring. He was one of the more popular tight end choices of Week 17, with his 62.2 start percentage being the seventh-highest at the position. It was also his third-highest start percentage of the season, trailing only his 71.4 percent in Week 5 and 68.4 percent in Week 1.
From Week 9 forward, Ertz scored 86 fantasy total points, most at the position.
Landry Jones, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: A slightly greater percentage of owners rolled the dice on Jones than on Burkhead; the former was active in 4.94 percent of ESPN leagues. Those owners who chanced it after seeing Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers' inactives list were rewarded with a 21-point fantasy day from the usual backup quarterback -- fueled in large part by a game-winning, 26-yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in overtime. Jones' score was greater than he had in his previous three NFL starts combined (19).
Sam Bradford, QB, Minnesota Vikings: He finished his season on a high note, and not simply because he set a single-season NFL record for completion percentage (minimum 50 attempts) with his 71.6 percent mark. Bradford's 22 fantasy points gave him a second consecutive game reaching the 20-point threshold; they were his first two such games of 2016, and they represented the first time in his career that he scored that many in consecutive contests. He was the week's most-added quarterback as his ownership percentage in ESPN leagues increased to 22.0 percent as of Sunday's kickoff time, and his 13.9 start percentage set his new season high.
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: He was started in a significantly larger percentage of ESPN leagues than Bradford -- though Brady's 75.4 percent rate was his second-lowest in any of his active games this season, behind only his 66.8 percent during his Week 15 matchup at the Denver Broncos -- so his 25 fantasy point score was certainly more expected. It did, however, tie for the highest total of any individual player or team defense/special teams during the 1 p.m. ET block and was a welcome surprise for those who might have wondered if he'd play enough of the game. With it, Brady finished the 2016 season with 251 fantasy points in 12 games played, only the second time in history that any quarterback had scored that many in so few contests (Mike Vick had 300 in 12 games in 2010).
Jerick McKinnon, RB, Vikings: In his 42nd career NFL game and 14th start, McKinnon set a new career high in fantasy points with 22 on Sunday. He was started in 39.3 percent of ESPN leagues, which was his second-highest percentage this season (66.3 percent, Week 9).
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Steelers: Fourteen times in his two-year Steelers career, Williams has drawn the start at running back, and Sunday he managed his 10th such game with at least 10 fantasy points and fifth such game with at least 20 fantasy points as he scored exactly 20. Among running backs with at least six starts since the beginning of 2015, Williams' 14.36 fantasy point average in his starts are fifth-best at the position.
Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots: His 23 fantasy points on Sunday not only paced all wide receivers during the 1 p.m. ET block, they matched his career high, previously set in 2013 Week 12. Using PPR scoring, Edelman finished with 31 points, which trailed only the 33 he scored in 2015 Week 2 and 32 in the aforementioned 2013 Week 12 as well as 2013 Week 15. He was one of the most-started wide receivers in ESPN fantasy leagues, active in 87.2 percent.
Kyle Rudolph, TE, Vikings: In the 80th game of his NFL career, Rudolph set a new personal best with his 17-point fantasy score Sunday. He was the sixth most-started tight end of Week 17, active in 67.9 percent of ESPN leagues.
Zach Zenner, RB, Detroit Lions: His 16 fantasy points fell considerably shy of the week's lead among running backs, but considering he was started in just 25.1 percent of ESPN leagues, it surely was a help to his owners. It gave him a combined 36 fantasy points in the past two weeks combined, which was second-most at the position behind only Mark Ingram's 41.
Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Like Burkhart and Jones, West thrived after being thrust into a starting role when Spencer Ware (ribs) was ruled inactive. West scored a season-best 22 fantasy points -- and 27 using PPR scoring -- both of which trailed only his 27 and 30 he scored in 2015 Week 10 among his best career performances. He was started in 4.74 percent of ESPN leagues.
Devontae Booker, RB, Denver Broncos: In what was a disappointing season for the rookie, Booker did end it on a high note, setting a career high with 22 fantasy points. It was his first time scoring in double digits since Week 8 (12).
Shaun Draughn, RB, San Francisco 49ers: With Carlos Hyde (knee, IR) sidelined on Sunday, Draughn handled the bulk of the rushing work for the 49ers, giving the few fantasy owners -- he was active in 1.85 percent of ESPN leagues -- who gambled upon him a hefty 22 fantasy points (26 using PPR scoring). That helped him set a new career high, exceeding the 14 and 19 he scored in 2015 Week 13.
Alex Smith, QB, Chiefs: Only four other times during his 12-year NFL career has Smith scored more than the 24 fantasy points he did on Sunday, and in fact, he finished just six shy of his personal best of 30, set in 2013 Week 15. It was a standout performance for the veteran, who propelled his team into the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and a good number of his fantasy owners did capitalize. Smith was started in 15.5 percent of ESPN leagues, his highest rate since Week 8 (21.7 percent).
Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons: His 23 fantasy points on Sunday placed him second among running backs, and gave him a final tally of 216 for the season, just 14 fewer than he had during his breakthrough 2015 and placing him seventh at the position. Freeman was the second most-started running back of Week 17, active in 98.9 percent of ESPN leagues.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints: His 21 fantasy points were second-best for the week (entering the Sunday night game), and were just one shy of his previous season best of 22, set in Week 12. With it, he finished his rookie season with 157 fantasy points, just two shy of teammate Brandin Cooks (159).
Losers
DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans: A pair of single-digit performances concluded his season on a sour note; he followed up his five fantasy points in Week 16 with a season-worst two on Sunday. In fact, that tied for the fifth-worst performance of his six-year NFL career, with only his zero points in 2015 Week 15 and three games of 0-1 fantasy points early in his 2011 rookie year (Weeks 1, 3 and 4) resulting in lower totals. Meanwhile, dynasty-league owners surely can't help but notice that rookie backup Derrick Henry scored 12 fantasy points of his own on Sunday, and that Henry had 48 fantasy points in his final five games to Murray's 43 over the same stretch.
Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers: He picked a bad time to put forth two of his 15 worst career performances (out of 93 career NFL games) in Weeks 16 and 17. After scoring 10 fantasy points in Week 16, Newton followed it up with seven on Sunday, which tied for the fourth-worst single-game score of his career; it was only the seventh time he was held to single-digit fantasy points in a game. Many fantasy owners acknowledged the unfavorable matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and sat him, however, as his 41.5 start percentage was 11th-highest at the position.
Jameis Winston, QB, Buccaneers: As Newton's Sunday opponent, Winston didn't fare much better. His nine fantasy points gave him three games finishing in single digits in the past four weeks; those represent three of the four in his career (and that's out of 32 NFL games). Winston also was started in more leagues than Newton: Winston's 44.8 start percentage was 10th-highest among quarterbacks.
Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers: For the eighth consecutive week, Olsen was held to single-digit fantasy points, his two on Sunday being his worst during that cold spell. It was the longest such stretch in his career since he finished the 2010 season with 13 consecutive games in single digits, though he wasn't nearly as highly regarded in fantasy leagues back then as he is today. To that point, Olsen was started in 87.3 percent of ESPN leagues, second-highest at the position.
Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears: Despite the bad matchup, Jeffery's fantasy owners were bolder in starting him on Sunday than they had been in either of his previous two games since his return from suspension; his 58.7 start percentage was higher than his 37.2 percent in Week 15 or 49.3 percent in Week 16. Unfortunately, he delivered them a season-worst one fantasy point on three targets, which in fact was his worst performance since his zero-point total in 2014 Week 7,
Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins: There were other quarterbacks who scored fewer fantasy points, but Cousins' 11 were a significant disappointment considering he was the seventh most-started in ESPN leagues (55.4 percent) in Week 17. It was the second time in the past three weeks he let his fantasy teams down; he also scored nine fantasy points in Week 15, when he was active in 63.8 percent of leagues.
Robert Kelley, RB, Redskins: For only the second time since he took over as the team's starter in Week 8, Kelley was limited to just three fantasy points on Sunday (he also had that few in Week 12). He was the 17th most-started running back in Week 17, active in 62.2 percent of ESPN leagues.
Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders: For the third consecutive week to conclude his season, Murray was held to single-digit fantasy points, his two representing his worst performance since Week 4 (1). Though his start percentage tumbled quite a bit in the past week, he was still the 11th most-started running back of Week 17 (71.2 percent).
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs: In Week 16, he matched his career high with 22 fantasy points. On Sunday, he matched his career low with zero fantasy points (also 2013 Week 2), and it came at an awful time, as Kelce was the most-started tight end in ESPN leagues, active in 96.3 percent.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Saints: His one fantasy point scored was certainly felt by a good number of owners; he was active in 84.8 percent of ESPN leagues, sixth-most among wide receivers. Cooks finished his season with six single-digit fantasy point totals in his final seven games, but most frustrating, that seventh game was a 30-point performance during which he set a career high.