Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell met with Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson after Sunday night’s game at US Bank Stadium and offered some heartfelt words of encouragement to the 22-year-old recently benched.

“Hey, do me a favor and remember something,” O’Connell said. “You’re a bad dude. And you’re going to play in this league for a long time. Okay? Go to work every day, good things are going to happen to you. I still believe in you, I know these guys do, Shane ( Steichen) too Man, this organization loves you.

You can tell O’Connell’s words are sincere. As a former quarterback himself, he has spoken extensively about the QB development process, saying earlier this year that “organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations.”

Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft, showed flashes of tremendous upside due to his unique size and athleticism at the quarterback position, but he was completing fewer than 45 percent of his passes this season when he was on the bench for Joe. Flacco last week. The Vikings, of course, had no problem stopping Flacco and the Colts in a 21-13 prime-time victory.

O’Connell and the Vikings organization were reportedly big fans of Richardson in the 2023 draft, but they had the No. 23 pick and couldn’t move high enough to get him. USC WR Jordan Addison ended up being Minnesota’s pick, which has worked out pretty well so far.

It’s a fun hypothetical to think about: What if the Vikings had somehow landed Richardson in last year’s draft? There couldn’t be a better situation for a raw quarterback with his physical tools than playing for O’Connell and throwing to Justin Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings weapons.

Instead, the Vikings waited until the 2024 draft, where they selected Michigan’s JJ McCarthy, to add a QB. Sam Darnold is having a resurgent season under O’Connell, but McCarthy remains in contention to take the reins when he returns from a knee injury in 2025.

It remains to be seen what Richardson’s future will look like in Indianapolis.