Your bench is growing more important by the week, with bye weeks, COVID-19 and injuries continuing to knock out some of the top stars. Try not to get too discouraged when you lose some of your most productive players — just try to find solid replacements, of which there are many. Unfortunately, everyone is dealing with these tough situations.

Here are the top waiver wire pickups after Week 7.

Keep in mind that we only include players on this list who are owned at 50% or less in ESPN standard leagues. A player like Chase Edmonds would, of course, make for a good pickup after an injury to Kenyan Drake, but Edmonds isn’t on this list as he’s owned in over 60% of leagues.

9 Scotty Miller, WR, Buccaneers (7% owned)

Some days, he’s as brilliant as he was in Week 7 (6 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD). Some days, he’s a whiff in fantasy football. The trouble with owning — and potentially playing him — is dealing with the fact that he’s in the same offense as Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and soon Antonio Brown. But he’s a decent pickup in deeper leagues.

8 Wayne Gallman, RB, Giants (0%)

The Giants offense is, for the most part, an abomination. But Gallman hasn’t actually been that bad this year (25 carries, 110 yards, one touchdown), and he could see a big opportunity if Devonta Freeman’s ankle injury holds him out for a while. Gallman took over as the lead back when Freeman left action on Thursday night.

7 La'Mical Perine, RB, Jets (11%)

Another New York running back, Perine is actually in a worse offense than Gallman. Perine got 11 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. It seems like he’s probably in line for a bigger role. But how big can it get? Consider that the Jets will be trailing for the rest of the season, which means they’ll be throwing a lot.

6 Logan Thomas, TE, Washington Football Team (9%)

Naturally, he’s popping, just when fantasy football owners are souring on him. He had 102 yards and two touchdowns over the last two weeks. He’s fairly touchdown dependent, but this offense has started using him more often in the red zone in the last two weeks.

5 Richard Rodgers, TE, Eagles (4%)

Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are both on injured reserve, so that means Rodgers stepped into the top tight end spot. And as we saw in Week 7, Rodgers (6 catches, 85 yards) should get solid production in that role. The Eagles offense tends to naturally promote good tight end production.

4 Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 49ers (21%)

It’s a matter of how quickly he can be a reliable option. In Week 7, he had six catches for 115 yards, and it seemed like he could be the No. 1 receiver the 49ers need. Aiyuk is worth picking up. But be careful not to slide him into your lineup right away. He needs to prove he’s consistent.

3 Rashard Higgins, WR, Browns (2%)

Higgins had six catches for 110 yards after Odell Beckham Jr. went out with a knee injury. And early reports around that injury are not optimistic. It seems like Baker Mayfield may have a new favorite target. Higgins isn’t much of a big play threat, but he’s a solid possession receiver who has made the most of his opportunities throughout his career.

2 Carlos Hyde, RB, Sehawks (5%)

Any lead back for the Seahawks is a good fantasy player to have. With Chris Carson departing Sunday night’s game with a sprained foot, Hyde took over the backfield. He’d be a tremendous asset to have, if Carson misses time.

1 JaMycal Hasty, RB, 49ers (3%)

San Francisco keeps losing running backs to injuries. But it seems the next guy up is always just as good, no matter how unknown of an entity he is. When Jeff Wilson suffered an injury, which is feared to be a high ankle sprain, against the Patriots on Sunday, Hasty stepped in and stepped up. He had nine carries for 57 yards and one catch for 16 yards.