Merrett was ruled out for up to 10 weeks with stress fractures in his back during the week and has been replaced in the team by veteran Matt Maguire.
Vice-captain Adcock said the ability of the Lions back six to switch positions will help them cover the Blues at Etihad Stadium.
Carlton were dealt two blows of their own at the selection table with tall targets Jarrad Waite (hamstring) and Setanta O'hAilpin (hand) ruled out, while Matthew Kreuzer (knee) returns from almost 12 months on the sideline.
Adcock was full of praise for his opposition but thought the Lions matched up well.
"They've got a very good forward line that's kicking lots of goals," he said.
"They've got two small players (Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett) that are damaging and dangerous around goal and they've got the mid sized player in Walker who has kicked a lot of goals, and the tall guys.
"They can go tall or small which will test us either way but hopefully we can adapt.
"We think we're pretty flexible and feel most of us can play taller or smaller. We feel our backline has been one of our strengths and we feel it's held up pretty well."
Adcock said he expected to play on a range of opponents, including Betts, Garlett, Walker and even Blues midfielders Mitch Robinson and Kade Simpson who often rest up forward.
The 25-year-old is having a strong season of his own - averaging 22 disposals per match - and said while Merrett's loss was "huge", he had total confidence in his replacement.
"He's (Merrett) clearly been one of our better players this year but we've got Matt Maguire who has the ability to take his role and take his spot. You lose Daniel but you get 'Goose' Maguire who has proved he can play that position well."
Adcock said the defence broke down against the Sydney Swans last weekend, conceding 13 scoring shots in the first quarter and 21 in the first half, and he expected a quick improvement on Sunday.
"Unfortunately in the first half it crumbled but you're going to have those games every now and then," he said.
"Probably one of our strengths is to scramble and be flexible on who we play on and know that we have confidence in each other on who we can play on."
Backman Josh Drummond has also been included in a 25-man squad after returning from four weeks out with a knee injury.
