Patriots had no draft pick prior to when Thomas was selected due to PSI-gate.
Wide receivers drafted in rounds 1-5 in 2016:
Corey Coleman (Cleveland); 1st round, 15th overall
Career Stats: 56 receptions, 5 TD
2018:
Aug 5: traded to Bills for 7th round pick
Sept 1: cut by Bills
Sept 11: signed by Patriots
Sept 17: released by Pats to make room for Josh Gordon
Sept 20: signed to Practice Squad by Patriots
Sept 29: released by Patriots
Oct 19: signed to Practice Squad by Giants
Oct 25: promoted to 53-man roster
2018 snap counts: zero
Will Fuller (Houston); 1st round, 21st overall
Career Stats: 31 games, 30 starts; 107 receptions, 14.6 ypc, 13 TD
On Injured Reserve and done for 2018 due to torn ACL
Josh Doctson (Washington); 1st round, 22nd overall
Career Stats: 25 games, 19 starts; 56 receptions, 758 yards, 13.5 ypc, 7 TD
Laquon Treadwell (Minnesota); 1st round, 23rd overall
Career Stats: 34 games, 12 starts; 48 receptions, 468 yards, 9.8 ypc, 1 TD
Sterling Shepard (Giants); 2nd round, 40th overall
Career Stats: 35 games, 34 starts; 164 receptions for 1,946 yards, 11.9 ypc, 12 TD
Michael Thomas (Saints); 2nd round, 47th overall
Career Stats: 39 games, 34 starts; 266 receptions, 3262 yards, 12.3 ypc, 19 TD
Tyler Boyd (Bengals); 2nd round, 55th overall
Career Stats: 34 games, 11 starts, 125 receptions, 1448 yards, 11.6 ypc, 8 TD
Braxton Miller (Texans); 3rd round, 85th overall
Career Stats: 21 games, 9 starts; 34 receptions, 261 yards, 7.7 ypc, 2 TD
Waived in final 2018 preseason cuts; now on Philadelphia practice squad
Leonte Carroo (Dolphins); 3rd round, 86th overall
Career Stats: 30 games, 2 starts; 10 receptions, 98 yards, 9.8 ypc, 1 TD
Waived in final 2018 preseason cuts; re-signed to Practice Squad
Promoted to active roster Oct 24; zero offensive snaps, 31 ST snaps
Chris Moore (Ravens); 4th round, 107th overall
37 games, 4 starts; 37 receptions, 422 yards, 11.4 ypc, 3 TD
2017 snap counts: 376 offense (43%), 176 ST (45%)
Malcolm Mitchell (Patriots); 4th round, 112th overall
32 receptions, 401 yards, 12.5 ypc, 4 TD
NFL career derailed due to knee injury
Ricardo Louis (Browns); 4th round, 114th overall
32 games, 12 starts; 45 receptions, 562 yards, 12.5 ypc, 0 TD
Will miss entire 2018 season due to neck injury
Pharoh Cooper (Rams); 4th round, 117th overall
25 receptions for 190 yards; 2017 Pro Bowler as a KR; now on IR (ankle)
Demarco Robinson (Chiefs); 4th round, 126th overall
28 receptions, 263 yards, 1 TD
Tajae Sharpe (Titans); 5th round, 140th overall
58 receptions, 744 yards, 3 TD
Jordan Payton (Browns); 5th round, 154th overall
1 reception, 3 yards, 0 TD
Suspended for final four 2016 games for PEDs
Waived 9/2/2017
Trevor Davis (Packers); 5th round, 163rd overall
8 receptions, 94 yards; 33 punt returns, 34 kickoff returns
Tyreek Hill (Chiefs); 5th round, 165th overall
184 receptions, 2550 yards, 13.9 ypc, 20 TD
53 carries, 387 yards, 7.3 ypc, 3 TD
76 punt returns, 971 yards, 4 TD
2-time Pro Bowl, 1-time All Pro
Rashard Higgins (Browns); 5th round, 172nd overall
52 receptions, 652 yards, 12.5 ypc, 3 TD
The draft is a crapshoot.
Expectations for getting these picks right tend to be way too high in comparison to reality by both fans and the media.