NBA Draft 2018: 5 second-round sleepers ready to play right away

Vince Edwards, Purdue

Looking for a solid 3-and-D candidate late in the second round? Well, Vince Edwards is your guy then. An excellent defender with the ability to guard multiple positions, the 6-foot-7 Edwards has tremendous instincts on defense. He is not tremendously quick nor does he come away with many steals but he knows how to make life difficult for just about any offensive player. In addition, Edwards shot a combined 144-for-352 (40.9%) from 3-point range over his last three seasons. This kind of shooting over a sample size that substantial has to mean something as he projects to be a solid shooter at the next level.

What limits Edwards is his athleticism. He does not have a very good first step with the ball so he struggles to create for himself. This would limit his abilities as a playmaker but he can still be effective offensively as a catch-and-shoot wing. On the defensive end, it might take him some time to adjust his game to lock down better athletes.

Edwards also averaged 7.4 boards to go with his 14.6 points per game this past season. He might not have been the star for Purdue (Carsen Edwards) but he was a major part of their success. He scored double-figures per game and shot over 80% from the charity stripe in each of the past three seasons. To put it simply, you know what you’re going to get out of Edwards.

Busting Brackets projection: Late second round to undrafted.