What goes up must come down and the Jacksonville Jaguars' spending is the perfect example.

Last year, the team was trying to add every piece possible to make up for the lost year under Urban Meyer's reign. Trevor Lawrence's rookie year went to waste in 2021 and Jacksonville wouldn't let that happen for another year.

So the team went ahead and got several difference-makers like Christian Kirk, Brandon Scherff, Evan Engram, and Zay Jones. They also raised the bar on defense by adding several key players.

In hindsight, that was a pretty neat offseason for the Jaguars that resulted in a significantly better team and a trip to the playoffs. At the time though, just about everybody called it a terrible case of overpaying.

The franchise, after all, had not earned the benefit of the doubt from other teams around the league. 

Now that the Jaguars have established themselves as a legit contender in the NFL though, teams are looking at them with newfound respect. 

So much so that one particular move is causing some well-intentioned envy.

“Their move that does not show on paper is the Calvin Ridley acquisition,” an NFL exec said via The Athletic's Mike Sando. “He is a better acquisition than any receiver in free agency. 

The roster move was so smart that the NFL executive even revealed he would've loved to make that move himself:

"I would have been high-fiving if we had gotten him," added the league executive in an article listing reactions to every team's free agency moves. 

"I don’t know how that went down, but it was definitely very quiet and for what they had to give up to get him, I thought that was a helluva move.”

In a league in which NFL front offices take pride in what they do and believe in, that's about the ultimate compliment the Jaguars can get.

But of course, they're not looking to be pat on the back. Rather, they're seeking offensive production. Ridley hopes to bring that to the table for Doug Pederson's offense.

The former Atlanta Falcon showed his level when he averaged over 1,000 receiving yards per year in his first three seasons. He also scored nine touchdowns per year in that span.

Truth be told, he was showing everybody in the NFL he could be a true No. 1 wide receiver. And he'll compete to be the top guy with Christian Kirk or anyone else the Jaguars put on the way.

Quiet free agency or not, Trevor Lawrence has help on the way because the front office made a very smart and under-the-radar bet last year.

Now they collect the dividends.