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Vernon Davis Evaluates 49ers TE George Kittle

Grant Cohn

August 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Chargers 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
August 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Chargers 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Vernon Davis and George Kittle might be the two best tight ends in 49ers history, and they both wore no. 85.

Today, I interviewed Davis and asked him to evalute Kittle tight end to tight end, or 85 to 85. Here's what Davis said.

DAVIS: "George is very talented. He has a unique ability to create separation. He's very savvy. He's patient. Great hands. Great blocking ability. He's the complete tight end in my eyes. And he can be very disruptive when it comes to catching the ball and gaining yards. I love his play. I love what he brings to the team. He plays with a lot of excitement. Our games are totally different when you watch and compare, but I love him."

ME: Why do you call yourself "The Real 85"?

DAVIS: I remember when I was young just having that competitive nature. It gave me confidence to call myself The Real 85. It meant to me that there was no one better than me. I felt like I was the best. If I was wearing this number and someone else was wearing it, then I was better than this person. That was just like a confidence thing for me, and I carried that with me my entire career."

ME: How much do you follow the 49ers?

DAVIS: "I try to keep up with them as much as I can. I'm so busy, I miss about 40 calls a day. I put myself in a position where I always have something to do. People are surprised when I tell them I wasn't able to watch the game today. I just had so much going on. But I love staying busy and evolving. Football is my heart and soul. I'm always going to love the 49ers. I keep up with them as much as I can."

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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