5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 13

As the bye-heavy Week 13 looms, these five pickups can help you find a way to a win in your fantasy football league.
Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals / Dylan Buell/GettyImages
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Thanksgiving week brought plenty to be thankful for if you played fantasy football. All 32 teams played, making it easy to start all of your healthy stars, while a lot of big performances from stars helped lift teams to key wins.

Things get much tougher in Week 13 as six teams are on bye, shortening lineups just two weeks shy of the postseason in most leagues. Let's look at the best pickups to make to bolster your lineup ahead of Week 13 with all rostered percentages based on Yahoo! leagues.

5 Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 13

5. Atlanta Falcons D/ST

In a week where a lot of fantasy teams will start backups in critical spots, finding any sort of point advantage can make a difference. There is a streaming defense worth grabbing in the Atlanta Falcons, who are a solid unit with a matchup against the New York Jets on tap for Sunday.

The Jets have been historically bad on offense this season as the combination of offensive line injuries, Aaron Rodgers' Achilles' injury, a lack of skill position talent outside of Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, poor playcalling from Nathaniel Hackett and key penalties have made them a unit to pick on with defenses. The Miami Dolphins racked up five sacks, two interceptions and a touchdown against the Jets in Week 12 while allowing only seven points, totals that can swing a matchup in standard leagues.

The Falcons are only rostered in 10 percent of leagues and should be a plug-and-play unit for teams with a starting defense on bye or in need of a matchup boost. For those looking ahead to playoff matchups, the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, and Washington Commanders are the next three teams set to draw the Jets after Atlanta.