It is almost as if they are linked, joined together by their age, position and career arch. They are referred to as “the two young tackles’’ and at times it seems as if the fall or rise of Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart is intertwined.

“I mean, we’re both individuals,’’ Hart said. “We’re cool, but we don’t come as a package.’’

No, they are not a package, even though Flowers, 23, and Hart, 22, are nearly young enough to be rookies and how they fare this season will likely determine whether all those Eli Manning weapons wreak havoc or fall by the wayside. Flowers is the left tackle, Hart is the right tackle, and how they got there is the difference between a speedboat and a canoe.

Flowers was a first-round draft pick in 2015, the No. 9-overall selection, and that lofty status means the Giants will give him every opportunity to succeed. Hart arrived in the same draft but two days later, with the 226th-overall pick, down in the seventh round.

That Hart started 13 games last season is somewhat astonishing, and that he is back again, working with the starters this summer is, well, quite a leap of faith by the Giants’ front office and coaching staff. As a tandem, Flowers and Hart were ranked by Pro Football Focus as the worst starting tackles in the NFL in 2016. Hart was 69th in pass protection, allowing 46 pressures. When it came time for the Giants to face the Packers in the playoffs, Hart was pulled from the lineup, replaced by veteran Marshall Newhouse.

Yet when it came time to plan for the 2017 offensive line, the Giants were content to give Hart first crack at right tackle. The only signing in free agency, D.J. Fluker from the Chargers, is more suited to right guard. The only tackle taken in the draft, Adam Bisnowaty, came in the sixth round.

“I wasn’t worried about none of that,’’ Hart told The Post. “I was just worried about myself getting better, becoming a better football player, getting ready to dominate the next season.’’

The Giants see a big change in Hart, as well as Flowers. Both were diligent offseason workers, camped out at the team facility, and both are leaner and stronger. Hart remains listed at 334 pounds, but he says he’s down to 316.

As much as his body underwent a makeover, so did his mind. He always was a thinker — a scout described Hart coming out of Florida State as “overly analytical, asks a lot of questions and takes time to digest what he is taught’’ — and after two years with the Giants, he figured out a more serious approach to his profession.

“You mature with age, you see more things, you understand how you need to handle yourself,’’ Hart said. “It’s growth.

“It’s Darwin’s theory. You know Darwin’s theory? He says species develop off of their intellect to survive. Whatever you need to do to survive, you evolve into it. The more you’re around you see what you need to do to survive and if you’re smart, you have intellect, you’re gonna adapt.’’

Hart entered college as a 16-year-old and was a 20-year-old NFL rookie. He started nine games as a 17-year-old true freshman. Athletically, he can handle himself — he was an AAU basketball teammate of college stars Jared Sullinger and Austin Rivers. Attention to detail, and comporting himself like a pro, well, that has taken some time.

“Smart,’’ veteran right guard John Jerry said, when asked what distinguishes Hart. “Very smart. He wants to be great. He asks a bunch of questions, he knows what to do. Now he’s seeing defensive alignments, he’s telling me ‘Here comes this, here comes that.’ He’s progressed very well over the last couple of years. He’s just got to keep that up. Bobby’s going to have a great year. Both our tackles are going to have great years.’’

Hart is not playing around. The smile he displayed often his first two years has given way to a far more serious countenance.

“He’s locked in, period,’’ Jerry said.

There is no real alternative here for the Giants. Fluker showed in San Diego he’s a more effective guard than tackle. Bisnowaty needs time to develop.

Hart does not think the Giants need an alternative.

“I had a couple of peaks, a couple of valleys, I want to be consistent, want to continue to ascend and be a staple guy, one of the top guys in the league,’’ Hart said. “When you speak about right tackles I want my name to be the first name that rolls off people’s tongues.’’

Is not this goal a bit lofty for a seventh-round pick?

“No,’’ Hart said, “because I’m a baller.’’